Chapter 640 Joint Trial of Five Ministries
There are more guards in uniforms inside the Yamen of the Criminal Department, and there are many times more officials than at the door. If you are familiar with the officialdom, you will find that in addition to officials from the Xingbu and Jinyiwei, there are also officials from Dali Temple, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Personnel in the Xingbu Yamen today.
These officials are not just people watching the excitement. They are either here to review and preside over today's submissions, or they are here to listen to the submissions.
In the Ming Dynasty, like the previous dynasties, the Ministry of Punishment was in charge of legal punishment and prisons, similar to the modern Ministry of Public Security. Together with Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it was called the "Three Law Departments".
Dali Temple is similar to the modern Supreme People's Court. It is also in charge of the trial of Xing prison cases. In ancient times, the person in charge of punishment was Tu, and it was also called Li. The "Li" of Dali Temple means "punishment", and Dali Temple is " "Daxing Temple"; the Metropolitan Procuratorate was the highest supervision, impeachment and remonstrance agency of the Ming Dynasty. It also handled criminal matters and had judicial jurisdiction, similar to the modern Supreme People's Procuratorate.
In the Ming Dynasty, these three agencies all held the power of Xing Prison, but there was also a division of labor. Cases in Xing Prison are mainly tried by the Ministry of Punishment. Dali Temple prefers to be a cautious organ, responsible for refuting and redressing unjust and wrong cases. If Dali Temple does not agree with the trial results of the Ministry of Punishment, it can file a petition to apply for a holy ruling; the Metropolitan Procuratorate is mainly responsible for refuting and redressing unjust and wrong cases. , the supervisor of Dali Temple, enjoys the privilege of "reporting on major matters and making decisions on minor matters." The three agencies check and supervise each other.
General criminal cases are tried by the Ministry of Punishment. If the case is more influential or serious, it will be heard together with the Dali Temple, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the General Affairs Envoy, as well as the officials, households, rituals, soldiers, and workers. When the joint trial of the departments takes place, it may be a joint trial of nine departments, or it may be a joint trial of several departments, depending on the size of the case. If the case is particularly serious, the top leaders of these nine departments will conduct a joint trial, which is often referred to as the Jiuqing Judicial Trial.
Of course, the factory health system in the Ming Dynasty was relatively unique. In many cases, Jin Yiwei or officials from the East and West Factory would participate in the trial, and even play a leading role.
Originally, the plan for Zhu Ping'an's impeachment of Zhao Daying was to be reviewed by the Ministry of Punishment and the Jinyiwei Federation. However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. The situation has changed a lot in the past few days. There have been many memorials to impeach Yan Song and his party members, resulting in Zhu Pingan’s impeachment case has also attracted much attention.
In addition, add some hints from some people.
Therefore, today's case of Zhu Ping'an's impeachment of Zhao Daying was jointly tried by middle- and higher-level officials from five departments including Jinyiwei, Criminal Ministry, Dali Temple, Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Ministry of War. As for the commander of the Imperial Guard, the Minister of Punishment, the Minister of Dali Temple, etc., they would not condescend to jointly try an impeachment case for a sixth-grade official. No matter Zhu Ping'an's rank or the influence of the case, they were not qualified.
There is a joint trial by mid-level and upper-level officials from five departments, and Zhu Ping'an's impeachment case has been taken seriously.
However, although it is a joint trial of mid-level and upper-level officials from five departments, because the case indirectly involves Yan Song, Mr. Yan Ge, individual bigwigs such as the Minister of Justice, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry, and the Minister of Dali Temple will also In attendance.
Let me go, there are so many people.
Although Zhu Ping'an had expected that there would be a lot of officials today when he was at the door, when he walked into the Penal Department Yamen, he was still shocked by the number of officials inside as there were in the previous court.
"Who are you?"
After Zhu Pingan entered the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice, a member of the imperial guard came to ask. The main reason was that Zhu Pingan's clothes were too conspicuous. Everyone else was in official uniform, but Zhu Pingan was the only one wearing it. Wearing regular clothes and carrying a cloth bag slung across his body, he immediately stood out from the crowd.
"Zhu Pingan, the Imperial Academy student, was ordered to come to express his love." Zhu Pingan slightly arched his hand, and then took out the official documents from the Ministry of Punishment.
"It turns out to be Lord Zhu. Please come here, Lord."
Jinyiweishan Baihu received the official document from Zhu Pingan. After looking at it carefully, he returned the gift to Zhu Pingan and handed the official document to Zhu Pingan. Return it to Zhu Pingan, and then lead the way to lead Zhu Pingan to the court.
This Jin Yiwei's surname is Liang, and his name is Liang Bi. Liang Bi is a hereditary Jin Yiwei. Trial Baihu is an official position of Jinyiwei. It is one level lower than Baihu and is a sixth-grade official position.
"My lord, if you go further, this is the place where you will express your love. I will not see you off because I am on duty. There is only one thing that I would like to keep in mind, Lord Zhu. Zhao Qiu, the left minister of the Ministry of War, is Zhao Da. Uncle Ying, please invite Mr. Zhu Qian Xiao "
Liang Bi led Zhu Pingan through the courtyard of the Ministry of Justice and entered the second gate through the corner gate. When passing through the corner gate, the Jin Yiwei reminded Zhu Pingan in a low voice, and then walked forward with his hands clasped in fists. Leave.
Oh?
Zhu Ping'an was startled, looking at Liang Bi's leaving figure, and was very curious as to why the Jin Yiwei told him such a secret. However, looking at Liang Bi's cautious and quick departure, Zhu Ping'an did not go up to ask questions. If he wanted to let himself know, he would naturally tell himself. If he didn't tell himself, he would have something hidden. He kindly reminded himself that he could never make things difficult for others again.
In fact, what Zhu Ping'an didn't know, the reason why Liang Bi reminded Zhu Ping'an was not very complicated. Shen Lian, the Jinyiwei who had impeached Yan Song and was exiled outside the Great Wall, was Liang Bi's old friend. Liang Bi was just a trial member of the sixth grade. When Shen Lian was persecuted by the strict party, Liang Bi was powerless and the strict party was powerful. Liang Bi could only quietly help Shen Lian take care of his wife, children and family.
When Shen Lian was persecuted by the strict party and faced the danger of beheading, Zhu Pingan said in front of Emperor Jiajing, "I heard that before this person submitted a letter, I had bought a coffin and placed it at home." This ignited Emperor Jiajing's heart. His anger made Jiajing mistakenly believe that Shen Lian was seeking fame by dying, so he changed the death penalty to exile. Because of this, Shen Lian was able to survive.
Liang Bi reminded Zhu Pingan that on the one hand he was grateful to Zhu Pingan for Shen Lian's incident, and on the other hand he admired Zhu Pingan for daring to impeach the strict party.
Liang Bi's family has a wife and children, and he knows that he does not have the courage to practice, so he can only use this hidden method.
After Zhu Ping'an entered the second door, he saw the court hall of the Ministry of Punishment being decorated. The guards outside the court hall were arranged in two rows with killing sticks. Under the command, the courtroom is being set up in the courtyard, tables and chairs are moved, a pergola is set up, and the presiding judge's seat and auditorium are arranged.
Because this petition was jointly presided over by five departments, there were nearly ten officials sitting in the court alone, plus He Ao, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhao Qiu, the left minister of the Ministry of War, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Minister of Dali Temple, and the Jin Yiwei colleagues. There were as many as twenty or thirty people including the magistrate and other officials attending the meeting.
Although the lobby of the Ministry of Justice is larger than the lobby of ordinary yamen, it cannot accommodate so many people, especially the number of officials who are listening in are more than the officials who are presiding over the trial. They are all officials of third grade or above. The Ministry of Justice cannot allow these big officials to sit down. Let's squeeze in the corner.
So, the Chen Qing Gong Hall was temporarily located in the courtyard, which was open enough to accommodate so many people. (End of this chapter)