The meaning of murder and heart-breaking is: it is better to destroy a person's body than to expose his thoughts and motives.

Source

The original text of "killing people and punishing the heart" comes from "Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Huo Xunzhuan":

The meaning of "Spring and Autumn" is determined by the original situation. Pardons are punishable by punishment, so although Xu Zhi committed regicide, he was not guilty, while Zhao Dun was found guilty of indulging the thief.

Interpretation

The meaning of this passage is: "Spring and Autumn" advocates that faults should be judged based on the actual facts of the matter, and the actions should be forgiven but the motives for doing them should be severely punished. Therefore, although Xu Zhi committed regicide, he was not convicted; even though Zhao Dun did not commit regicide himself, he still committed a heinous crime and was therefore convicted.

So by extension, the meaning of murder and heart-killing is: it is better to destroy a person's body than to reveal his thoughts and motives.

Example

Going back to "Let the Bullets Fly", after the tragedy caused by a bowl of jelly, Liuzi committed suicide and died by caesarean section. At this time, Zhang Mazi definitely wanted to kill someone to avenge Liuzi. But the master stopped Zhang Mazi in time and said these four words: murder and heart-breaking.

From the master's point of view, he definitely didn't want Zhang Mazi and Huang Silang to draw swords and draw blood, which would damage the harmony and make no money. So he had to dissuade him, so why did he know that saying these four words would be useful to Zhang Mazi?

When I was discussing how to make money with the master, the master said a wise saying: "When the county magistrate takes office, he must create a clever name, win over the wealthy gentry, and pay taxes and donations."

"After getting the money, the gentry's money was returned in full, and the common people's money was divided into 30 and 70."

But Zhang Mazi said: "I want to stand still and give the money back." Earn it! "

Coupled with the fact that he beat martial arts officials in public and prevented people from kneeling down, it is impossible for the master to not know what Zhang Mazi wants to do. Yes, Zhang Mazi may not care much about money, but he cares about Huang Silang very much.

It is not difficult to kill Hu Wan, and even Huang Silang is not difficult for Zhang Mazi. The key is how to kill him: whether to eliminate him by violence without any reason; or to make him completely lose the support of the people and mobilize the masses to eliminate him. Therefore, he and the landlord class he represents are not allowed to stand up.

So the focus of killing people and punishing the heart is not to kill people, but to create public opinion, expose Huang Silang's background, and completely ruin Huang Silang's reputation. Only then can we mobilize the forces of justice to be invincible.

Opinion

Personally, I think that "killing one's heart" here does not mean exposing or blaming a person's thoughts or intentions, but destroying a person's will.

This word is related to the previous sentences of Master. "Huang Silang just wants to see you like this, with a defeated look on your face" "If you kill him, you will lose, but if you don't kill him, you can still win." The word "killing and killing the heart" is telling Zhang Mazi that Huang Silang killed Liuzi with the purpose of killing you. To kill your son is to destroy your will, make your heart shaken and chaotic, and preferably make you lose your mind, kill Hu Wan on the spot, create the fact that the county magistrate intentionally killed someone, and then do it openly and openly Kill you. To kill someone who challenges your own order and is a potential threat to you, sacrificing Hu Wan is not a big price. Hu Wan is just a dog of Huang Silang. If he dies, there will be thousands of people who will come. Fill his place (this can be seen in a later scene, when Hu Wan returns to Huang's house with a mutilated ear. Huang Silang is not concerned about his injury, but about whether the jelly in his stomach is jelly or not).

Huang Silang's three cards: treat, behead, and accept as a dog, are used to deal with three different county magistrates. Those county magistrates who are obedient and willing to kneel down are treated as dogs and let them make money for themselves (such as the method of making money mentioned by the master at the beginning); while dealing with those county magistrates who are dishonest and even challenge their authority , Huang Silang probably used this "killing and heartbreaking" method. To give you some color, if he collapsed on the spot and killed his subordinates, he would directly kill (behead) him; if he did not kill his subordinates, then treat him to a treat. , testing you to see if you are honest. If you are honest, you will either kneel down and be my dog, or run away; if you are still not honest, I will send someone to the county government office to assassinate you after the banquet, and then put the responsibility on the gangsters. body, and then wait for the next county magistrate.

If the county magistrate who accepted him as a dog has some strength, he will let them go out of the city to suppress the bandits. In this way, the money extracted from the gentry and the common people will be more than ordinary tax donations. When the time comes, let the fake pockmark kill the county magistrate. All the money belongs to him, and the responsibility for the death of the county magistrate is also placed on the bandit.

Personally, I feel that when the master, who is also a real Ma Bond, said "killing people and punishing the heart" at that time, it was not really for Zhang Mazi's benefit. He just wanted to make money. If Zhang Mazi hadn't killed Hu Wan on the spot, he would still have the opportunity to cooperate with Huang Silang, and he would still be able to make a fortune. After that, he would go to Kangcheng to take up the post, and the matter in Echeng would be regarded as winning the lottery. .