Bai Juyi's poem "New Yuefu", "Death row prisoners will come back to prison in 400 years", said this sentence:
At the end of the sixth year of Zhenguan (AD 632), Li Shimin personally tried the case. When Emperor Taizong saw more than 30 death row inmates, he was very sympathetic to them. He made an imperial edict: all of them were put home to reunite with their families and executed in Beijing in the autumn of one year. Then Taizong gave another order: put all the death row prisoners in the country back and come to Beijing for questioning next year.
As a result, all 390 death row inmates in China went home.
In the seventh year of Zhenguan (AD 633), 390 death row prisoners were released all over the country, and all of them returned to Chang 'an on time without any leadership or supervision. None of them ran away or hid. Finally, Emperor Taizong pardoned all these death row inmates.
The plot of the story is very simple, but there are too many things worthy of interpretation and aftertaste by future generations. These 390 people know that they have been sentenced to death. Why are they willing to come back and die when they have a chance not to escape? Why did Emperor Taizong pardon them all? Just out of sympathy?
The reason for this is to start with the benevolent government of Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong loved the people like a son. He once said, "People can't be resurrected after death, and law enforcement must be broad and simple." Emperor Taizong stipulated that killing a condemned man must be reported to the emperor three times. Moreover, on the day of execution, the emperor could not eat wine and meat, nor could he sing and dance to his heart's content. Because wine can be chaotic, music can make people addicted to emotions and unable to think rationally. The purpose is to let the emperor think calmly at the last moment before the execution, so as not to kill the innocent by mistake. Moreover, Emperor Taizong set an example, took the lead in obeying the law, and truly realized that the Prince broke the law with Shu Ren. In addition, based on agriculture, Emperor Taizong reduced taxes, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the social security was quite good. In the early years of Zhenguan, there were less than 100 people on death row in China.
In the face of such a kind emperor and such a fair justice, it can be said that these condemned prisoners have no complaints but regrets, and they are naturally grateful for the pity of Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong was also a very honest monarch. As the saying goes, "the people take officials as teachers" and "the trip to death row" are the embodiment of the great power of Taizong's virtue to do good.
Emperor Taizong's amnesty was not just out of pity. The ancients believed that "honesty" is the fundamental of being a man. These death row inmates can keep their promises and know how to be grateful, which shows that they still have a bottom line, so Taizong gave them a chance to start over.
Only with such a noble monarch who knows how to govern the country by virtue can there be honest officials and people who pay attention to rules. It is not difficult to understand why there was a peaceful and prosperous time in the early Tang Dynasty when politics was clear, roads were not connected, and households were not closed at night.