Chapter 1194 The Third Judge
The mountains in the distance are already showing the color of indigo, but the spring cold in Chang'an City is still there.
However, today this most majestic city in the world seemed like a pot of boiling hot water. Countless people and scholars came out and gradually gathered in front of the Xingbu Yamen, surrounding the entire street.
The hotly debated "Fang Jun murder case" was discussed today in the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment by the "three divisions" of the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and Yushitai!
Whether it is the imperial guards of Suwei Palace, Wuhou hunting down bandits, patrols of Jingzhao Mansion, or the garrison of the Sixteenth Guards, they all have their bows drawn and their swords unsheathed, their armors are on, and they are patrolling the city with their eyes wide open, lest there be someone. Those with ulterior motives incite public opinion and take the opportunity to cause trouble...
Fang Jun is a celebrity.
Not only does he hold a high position in charge of the Jingzhao Mansion, but he is also the son-in-law of the Prime Minister and the emperor. He is also a brave and invincible general and a gifted poet. He is both civilized and military, and has high moral character! All the people in Guanzhong have benefited from it, and everyone promotes Fang Jun's benevolence and his reputation is upright. He has already become a leader among the younger generation of officials. In the future, he will be the white jade pillar of the empire and the purple gold pillar of the empire. Liang!
But now, it is Jing Zhaoyin, who has the reputation of "Buddha of all families", who is involved in a murder case...
The common people are honest and simple. In this era when the literacy rate is extremely low, their simple minds only believe in their own judgment. And the reason why they judge things is very simple - bad guys will not do good things, and good people will never do bad things!
You ask, is Fang Jun a good guy or a bad guy?
Even a three-year-old baby will yell at you: "I will be the second husband of the house one day!"
How could a good official like Fang Jun, who was dedicated to serving the public and caring for the people, get involved in a murder case?
The people did not believe it, and Fang Jun had never confessed. They all believed that Fang Jun had been framed and slandered by political opponents and suffered injustice.
When the two poems written on the walls of prisons came out and were widely circulated among the people, public opinion suddenly became fierce and the people were filled with anger!
Again, how could a man as talented as Fang Jun, who has never been seen in ancient times, do something that is so harmful to nature and violates national laws?
"Heavy snow weighs on the green pine trees, and the green pine trees are straight and straight..."
"I am smiling to the sky with my horizontal sword, leaving behind my liver and gallbladder..."
Even the scholars from all over the world who came to the capital to prepare for the Spring Festival couldn't sit still!
Listen!
How could such a majestic and heroic poem be written with so much anger if one had not suffered a huge injustice?
Lords of the imperial court, don’t you just open your eyes and take a look?
Will such a loyal, honest and self-responsible official be framed and slandered by you, and have to be convicted of murder, thus cutting off that beautiful future?
The common people and scholars were furious. They did not dare to openly plead guilty to Fang Jun, but they could spontaneously come to the criminal department to silently express their dissatisfaction and anger!
Finally, His Majesty, who was in the Tai Chi Palace, heard the angry voices from the people and called the "Three Judges" with the highest authority in the Tang Dynasty to try Fang Jun's case.
In the eyes of the people, this was an opportunity set up to clear Fang Jun's grievances. The common people have a steelyard in their hearts. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, officials have been honest and strict in their administration of laws. Even His Majesty, the emperor, who is the supreme emperor in the world, will be honest and make mistakes in the face of Wei Zheng's merciless remonstrances. The king is wise and the ministers are virtuous. This is the prosperous age. Huazhang!
Even if there are one or two scoundrels in the court who do such insidious and treacherous actions, the majority of them are honest and upright officials. After the trial of the "Three Judges", Fang Erlang will definitely be cleared!
Therefore, the common people and scholars all flocked to the criminal department, waiting to receive the results of the case as soon as possible...
*****
In the main hall of the Criminal Department, there are many officials from the Three Law Departments.
Sun Fuga, the minister of Dali Temple, Liu Dewei, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, and Liu Jie, the censor of the administration of books, and the "three envoys" were all present.
"Yu Shi Zhongcheng" was established during the Qin Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, he was the deputy official of the Yu Shi Dafu, or was called the Yu Shi Zhong Cheng, with a rank of thousands of stones. Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty deposed the imperial censor, and appointed the censor Zhongcheng as the chief of the censorship station. This was followed through the dynasties, but the official name changed from time to time: Cao Cao once changed the censor Zhongcheng to Gong Zheng to correct the court etiquette of all officials; the Northern Wei Dynasty also changed the name to lieutenant. By the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the political situation was unstable and the world was in turmoil. The imperial censorship was sometimes replaced, and even if this official position was set up, it was often absent.
Therefore, the censor Zhongcheng is actually the chief of the censorship station. In the Sui Dynasty, the Yushi Dafu was replaced by the Yushi Zhongcheng. When the Tang Dynasty was established, the Yushi Zhongcheng and the Yushi Zhongcheng were changed to the Yushi Zhongcheng. They were set up alongside the Yushi Dafu, but they were still the highest officials in the Yushitai to carry out affairs. The Yushi Dafu was more of a symbol. Meaning.
It wasn't until Gaozong Li Zhi ascended the throne as emperor that the emperor's name was taboo, and he changed the title of Censor Censor back to Censor Zhongcheng, but this is a story for later...
Sun Fujia is in the middle, Liu Dewei is on the left, and Liu Jie is on the right. The three of them occupy the main position, and they are majestic and solemn. Wei Yijie, the left minister of the Criminal Department, and Zhang Yunji, the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, accompanied the last person. There were five people in total, forming the main body of today's trial.
However, this case has far-reaching implications and is of a bad nature. The deceased is the legitimate son of Changsun Wuji, and the suspect is Fang Xuanling’s son. It has already affected the interests of all parties. Therefore, there are also Wei Zheng, the Minister of Rites, Linghu Defen, the Minister of Rites, and Hejian County. Wang Li Xiaogong and other court officials sat on one side and listened to ensure the fairness of the trial.
Outside the lobby, noisy and noisy sounds could be heard faintly...
Sun Fujia frowned slightly, turned slightly, and said to Liu Dewei beside him: "There are many people and scholars outside. Once there are deviations in the trial of the case, it will easily cause public opinion to be chaotic and lead to serious consequences. This is the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment, why not send Liu Shangshu The government officials dispersed them all to prevent any unexpected events?”
Liu Dewei was so angry that he wanted to raise his hand and punch Sun Fujia hard...
Even if you want to trick people, don't be so obvious, okay? Are you insulting my intelligence or are you deliberately entertaining me?
Even the emperor acquiesced to the gathering of these common people and scholars outside the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice. You asked me to disperse them... If it caused a conflict, do you still want my hat?
Liu Dewei glanced at Sun Fujia and said angrily: "How many people are there in the Punishment Department? If such a small number of people go out, they will be surrounded all of a sudden. Besides, there is quite a misunderstanding about the Punishment Department in the outside world. It would be better not to disperse them. Once I went, I can’t say it Being caught in front of a treacherous minister and making trouble, the censors in the Censorship Station have always been honest and honest, and have an excellent reputation. The people are very impressed. Why not let Liu Censor send the censors to persuade the people and scholars to disperse. ?”
Liu Ji rolled his eyes and said calmly: "The Yushitai is responsible for supervising all officials. How can it have any experience in communicating with the people? Most of the yamen servants in the Ministry of Punishment are from the people and are closer to the people. Presumably the people will trust them more."
Liu Jie didn’t want to be fooled by Liu Dewei. Not only did he reject it cleanly, but he also kicked the ball back...
Liu Dewei's eyelids twitched and he suppressed his anger.
Mother!
What does it mean that the government officials of the Ministry of Punishment come from the people and are closer to the people?
You might as well just say that you despise the government officials in the Criminal Department as a bunch of idiots...
The three of them muttered a few words. Anyway, they wanted to trick others when they had nothing to do. It didn't matter if they didn't succeed, so they all stopped and kept silent.
Leaning slightly, a government servant walked in quickly from outside the door and said respectfully: "The time has come."
Sun Fujia nodded, cleared his throat with a cough, and said loudly: "The murder case of Chang Sun Dan is now being tried by the Sanfa Division. Bring the criminal Fang Jun to court!"
"No!"
Then several government servants from the hall responded and went to Dalao to pick up the person.
After a while, Fang Jun, who was dressed in regular clothes and full of energy, was brought to the lobby.
Fang Junxin walked in and stood firmly in the hall. He first bowed his hands and saluted the three chief judges, and then saluted the big bosses on the side. Then he stood up straight and faced the chief "Third Secretary" with a calm expression. make".
Sun Fuga glanced at Fang Jun and said loudly: "Fang Jun, regarding the murder of Chang Sun Dan, can you plead guilty?"
Fang Jun pursed his lips and was speechless for a moment...
Li Xiaogong on the side sighed slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable. He has had a lot of contact with Fang Jun and knows how arrogant this seemingly irritable and casual young man is in his heart! It is a kind of arrogance as if standing on the clouds and looking down at all living beings. It is a kind of courage with the world in mind!
But such a young man who is so proud to the core has no choice but to obey His Majesty’s will and bow his head to plead guilty...
The old god Wei Zheng, who has always been famous for his uprightness in criticizing and remonstrating, closed his eyes and meditated. His gray eyebrows did not even move. Whether Fang Jun deserved his punishment or was framed, it seemed that everything in front of him had nothing to do with him...
Linghu Defen, the Minister of Rites, had a smile on his face and his heart was very bright!
Didn’t you kid humiliate me over and over again? Now see what will happen to you! The entire Guanlong Group has been fully mobilized. Countless favors and interests have flowed to the five officials of the "Three Laws Division" who are in charge of the trial. In addition, there are Jiangnan nobles who are adding insult to injury and Shandong aristocratic families who are sitting on the mountain watching the fight between tigers. The overall situation is decided!
Just wait and see how you, the "Fang family's thousand-mile horse", will fall from the clouds into dust, and how you will be trampled on like an ant!
There was silence in the lobby.
No matter what camp everyone in the hall is in, they all know in their hearts that the Fang family will definitely be convicted today...
Since it is irreversible, everyone is naturally happy to give Fang Jun some time. After all, even if he is dismissed from his official position, sent to the army and exiled, Fang Jun is still the mallet. He will never beg for mercy or swallow his anger just because he does not have an official title. He has a notorious reputation and cannot be provoked...
Everyone is waiting for Fang Jun to plead guilty.
Fang Jun stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, his expression changing, his mind wandering.
Are you following His Majesty Li Er's wish to bow your head and plead guilty, awaiting subsequent compensation?
Or should you follow your own heart and fight to the end even if you are attacked by swords and axes?
After a long time, Fang Jun finally breathed out slowly.
He looked around at the people in the hall, who were either full of sympathy and sighing, or triumphant and gloating, all kinds of gestures were visible to his eyes. (End of chapter)