Chapter 304 Trial and Conviction
Zhu Houzhao looked at Meizhi County: "Since we are in court, and the banker and I are both complainants, we should ask the magistrate to decide the case impartially. Didn't you just say that you would still punish me with the rod? Do you still want to punish me with the rod now? ?”
The magistrate of Meixian smiled awkwardly: "Of course not. I didn't know your identity just now, so I offended you. Please forgive me! Thank you, thank you!"
"Reason?"
Zhu Houzhao asked coldly.
What reason?
Meizhixian looked confused.
"Give me a reason not to punish me. You just said that I was contemptuous of the court and you punished me. Why don't you punish me now? Answer me!"
Zhu Houzhao continued to ask.
Meizhixian didn't expect this noble person to ask such a question. He was speechless for a moment, and then murmured after a while: "The reason, the reason is, the reason is because you are a noble person."
Zhu Houzhao snorted and did not continue to press the already sweating Meizhixian. He only continued: "In this case, it is better to ask Meizhixian to continue the case. The truth must be revealed! This cannot be delayed. , I can’t stay in your place for a long time.”
"Review the case, review the case."
The magistrate of Meixian nodded, straightened his black gauze hat, sat back, and then slapped the gavel: "I am a troublemaker, please plead guilty!"
The banker who was kowtowing to plead guilty now dared to talk nonsense. He immediately kowtowed and said, "Plead guilty, plead guilty, common people plead guilty!"
"You dare to accuse a noble person. It shows where your conscience is. Take this person down and beat him to death with sticks!"
After Magistrate Mei finished speaking, several government officials came up. The whole trial process was simple and fast.
And the banker didn't resist, he was just begging for mercy.
But Zhu Houzhao was very dissatisfied. He was dissatisfied that the Ming Dynasty was still so backward in administrative justice. He thought that this was not a case trial and conviction. The case was not clearly investigated. Just because he was a nobleman, he directly shouted at the banker, and the banker seemed to know. After offending someone he couldn't afford to offend, he just confessed and spared his life without questioning the legality of the magistrate's law enforcement. Even the magistrate's law enforcement and conviction was very arbitrary. He did not say what laws the banker had violated, and even demanded that he be beaten. Beat to death.
Zhu Houzhao admitted that this villager was also abominable, but the crime was not punishable by death. Even if it was a capital crime, there had to be a process. Only he, the emperor, could deprive the people of the Ming Dynasty of their right to life, and no one else had the power.
"Wait!"
Zhu Houzhao said something hurriedly at this time.
"What else do you have to say, noble man?" Magistrate Meixian asked Zhu Houzhao hurriedly and cautiously.
The banker who was crying and begging for mercy also looked at Zhu Houzhao, with a look of expectation on his face.
"Don't worry, I'm not begging for mercy for you. You took advantage of my conscience. I will never forgive you because of my kind heart." Zhu Houzhao first said to the banker.
The farmer began to cry and said: "Sir, you have a lot of money. Don't be like the common people. The common people really have no choice!"
"You can ask me to donate to you to help you reduce losses, but you can't take advantage of my kindness, and even accuse me because of my kindness. For the sake of the world, there will still be more conscience and more poor people will be saved because of the world. You have a conscience and get help, so I can’t let you go easily. I want everyone who betrays their conscience to be severely punished, including you!”
After Zhu Houzhao said that, he raised his head and looked at Meizhi County: "I am a litigator, so naturally I dare not give any instructions. I just feel that your case trial by Magistrate is very inconsistent with the court rules. The people-friendly officials ordered by the court to preside over judicial procedures are not This kind of procedure, I mean, you have to follow the rules to try the case and convict!”
Meizhixian began to feel that the noble man in front of him was very strange. He was so strange that he paid special attention to some rules: "I dare to ask, noble man, what kind of rules do you want."
Zhu Houzhao was speechless. He couldn't help but think to himself that the various judicial systems he had ordered from the central court had not been implemented at the local level. Or was it because the county magistrate was not qualified and did not even have the basic ability to handle public affairs, or even knew these things.
"Follow the rules of the court! First, ask questions and file the case, then verify the evidence, let the litigants make their arguments, and finally, you, the county magistrate, will convict and pronounce the verdict and read out the basis for the conviction!"
When Zhu Houzhao said this, Magistrate Meixian was a little embarrassed, because in his opinion, this was very complicated. If he had to deal with it in this way, he would not have time to go to the flower boat to find the oiran today. But now Zhu Houzhao, a noble man, wants to ask for this. He had no choice but to tell his master: "Follow the rules!"
So, the master began to look for the imperial decree and began to implement it.
It is not difficult to file a case, but according to the rules, people have to pay legal fees. This is the same as in the past when people came to the Yamen to complain and had to pay money to subordinate officials.
However, according to the formal system, subordinate officials are not qualified to collect money. Litigation fees are public service fees collected exclusively by the county government prison office. There are also regulations on the cost of litigation fees. They are basically not high and are not as high as ordinary people's monthly salary. One-tenth of the income is only slightly higher when it comes to large-scale economic cases such as property division and inheritance.
then.
Meizhi County had to follow the rules and said first: "Since it was this banker who first sued the nobleman to forcefully buy his goods, beat him, and trampled on his goods, then let's try this banker's case first, and this banker will tell you his name." and the valuation of your goods.”
The banker was also at a loss. He first reported his name: "Caomin Chen Jing."
Then, Master Xing Ming on the side explained to the banker what valuation of goods is.
The banker Chen Jing actually had no idea what the nobleman and the master in front of him wanted to do, so he had to follow their request and said: "It's only worth ten silver dollars."
"That's the amount of legal fees. What do you think?" Master asked Chen Jing again.
Chen Jing shook his head: "Do I have to pay for the complaint? But I have no money. I don't have any money! Can I not sue?"
"Okay, then withdraw the lawsuit." The master on the side wrote a letter of withdrawal of the lawsuit and asked Chen Jing to stamp it with his fingerprint. Then after Meizhi County took the withdrawal of the lawsuit from the master, he also nodded: "Since Chen Jing has withdrawn the lawsuit, Then we will hear the case of the noble Zhang Xia filing a false accusation against Chen Jingpan. Sir, are you willing to pay the legal fees?”
Zhu Houzhao glanced at Guo Rong: "Give it to him!" So Guo Rong handed the legal fees to the master, and everyone present felt it was very strange, and they did not expect that a nobleman like Zhu Houzhao would be willing to pay the legal fees. This is a proper way to maintain your dignity.
Even the defendant Chen Jing felt fresh and at a loss. He vaguely understood that he could not leave now because his accusation of falsely accusing this noble man was being tried by the county magistrate. However, it was precisely this process that made him start to think. I wonder how the law of the Ming Dynasty punishes me for the crime of false accusation. Is it more severe than beheading? Otherwise, why would this noble man do this?
Meizhi County began to hear the case, asking for evidence, etc., but because the villager had confessed before, he did not go to any trouble and began to convict him directly. However, Meizhi County also forgot about the Ming Dynasty laws and punishment regulations and began to I asked Master to read it. After reading it for a long time, he said:
"According to the punishment regulations revised in the 15th year of Zhengde's reign, those who falsely accuse others in order to obtain property shall be punished with a rod for 60 years and exiled for 5,000 miles! Twenty years of reform through labor!"
"In this case, pull this person down and give him a sixty-year rod!" Magistrate Meixian ordered.
Chen Jing was shocked. He thought that even if he was beaten with sixty sticks, he would be exiled for five thousand miles, which would be equivalent to dying in a foreign country. Naturally, he kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Master, please forgive me! Noble man, please forgive me! The common people know that they are wrong, and they should not make false accusations." , you shouldn’t be ungrateful, the common people just see this The noble man was kind and helped the grass people, and drove away the green skin for the grass people. When he saw Xianggong Zhai coming, he thought that the noble man had beaten the grass people and trampled on the goods of the grass people, so that the noble man could pay for the goods of the grass people! Guilty, but the common people..."
"Stop talking, since you have decided to do this, you have to bear the consequences. Mei Zhixian, how can the Ming Dynasty's laws forgive the criminals because they are pitiful?"
Zhu Houzhao asked.
"Of course not!"
Meizhixian smiled, slapped the gavel, and shouted again: "Pull it down and beat it!"
Chen Jing was dragged down. He did not expect this ending. He indeed regretted it very much now, but even if he regretted it, it was too late, bang! When the stick hit him, he could only scream instinctively and passed out after a few screams.
Zhu Houzhao also left the county government.
Zhu Houzhao was greatly touched by this matter, but what he didn't expect was that as soon as he finished handling the matter, the group of green men came again, and brought more people, and directly swung their swords at Zhu Houzhao. Edge chop.
Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao only ordered: "Kill them all! Capture a commoner to be a witness, and bring over the government official who followed us. Then let the county government know that we are acting in self-defense!"
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"Brothers, if you dare to act wild in Nanxun Town, I will chop them to death!"
The Qingpi named Xing shouted hello, and several Qingpi came over with big swords.
Snap!
Jinyiwei Liu Shi fired first, and immediately knocked a green man into the river, leaving only a patch of red.
Then, snap! Bang bang! Bang bang bang! ! ! A series of gunshots rang out, and most of these green-skinned men were killed on the spot!
The remaining green-skinned men were stunned. They didn't expect that the entourage of these merchants also carried muskets.
Zhu Houzhao also took out his royal blunderbuss and walked towards the Qingpi named Xing.
The man surnamed Xing instinctively wanted to run, but was shot by Zhu Houzhao. The green-skinned man surnamed Xing was shot in the foot and fell to the ground.
Zhu Houzhao came over, and the green man named Xing also hurriedly begged for mercy: "Hero, spare my life! We are employed by the Zhai family cloth shop. Please spare my life for the sake of Mr. Zhai!"
Zhu Houzhao smiled coldly and pointed his gun at the head of the green-skinned man named Xing: "I said, just because of your words of contempt for the emperor at that time, you will die!"
Snap!
Zhu Houzhao pulled the trigger, and a bloody hole suddenly appeared in the green-skinned man named Xing's head. Then he fell to the ground, his eyes wide open. He didn't know that he had offended the emperor until he died.
No one else noticed this. The commoner who was taken hostage by the Jin Yiwei was so frightened that he peed. He just nodded and said: "Hero, spare your life, hero, spare your life. I can see it clearly. They are here to kill you." Yes, you are acting in self-defense!”
Not long after, the county government indeed sent someone, and there were witnesses and the county government's own people to testify. The county government could only determine that Zhu Houzhao and others were acting in self-defense, but did not pursue anything. Of course, Meizhi County does not dare to pursue Zhu Houzhao and others now. People what.
Next, Zhu Houzhao visited other towns. He found that the towns throughout Jiangnan were indeed becoming more and more densely distributed with the development of the commodity economy. Many towns were even developed because of the overseas merchants, and some were because of several A town formed on the basis of a market by farmers in a village because of commodity transactions.
Many towns and cities are not yet managed by government agencies because many towns do not have county offices. Even some large towns such as Zhujing Town and Anting Town are no longer so prosperous that they belong to the state or county. However, these towns also have no county government because they do not have The government has caused the emergence of tyrants, and there are many people who buy and sell by force, and there is no one to manage them. Many green-skinned gangsters take the opportunity to cause chaos, and some towns even do not even establish a tax system because of their rapid development.
Zhu Houzhao felt that as the emperor, he had to strengthen the government functions of the imperial court in this area. He could not allow bullies and green-skinned gangsters to destroy the people's freedom of trade, nor could he allow the trade profits of these towns to be excessively concentrated in the hands of local gentry. .
Zhu Houzhao discovered overtly and covertly that these so-called hegemonic tooth shops were backed by families with local power backgrounds. Otherwise, they would not be able to control the local market. There is no doubt that most of the profits flowed into the hands of these families. If If this continues, these families will become plutocrats that even the court will find difficult to shake.
If these plutocrats were allowed to seize local management rights and even affect the political structure of the court, it would be difficult for Ming Dynasty's national policies to be balanced and reasonable, and would only favor these plutocrats.
Zhu Houzhao came directly to Nanjing and summoned Nanjing ministers, as well as Zhejiang's chief secretary and inspector general officials. They were also summoned to Nanjing by Zhu Houzhao's decree.
Of course, it was only then that the officials in Nanjing and Zhejiang knew that His Majesty the Emperor had come to Jiangnan again.
Jiangnan is an unclear concept. According to the division of Jiangnan Province in the Yuan Dynasty, the current Nanzhili is the Jiangnan area. But in fact, the customs of Hangjiahu and Nanzhili in Zhejiang are similar, and the economic development is not inferior to that of Nanzhili. It belongs to Susong area.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao wanted to rectify Jiangnan's commodity economy and society this time, so he naturally called in officials from Zhejiang.
But before the officials from Zhejiang arrived in Nanjing, Zhu Houzhao changed his mind. In the past few days around Nanjing, the wealth and population density of the people, as well as the emergence of some organizations similar to trade unions and gangster-like organizations, Local forces made him realize that perhaps the administrative divisions of the Ming Dynasty needed to be changed.
At least Yingtian, Suzhou, Songjiang, Hangzhou, Huzhou, Jiaxing and other areas in the Taihu Basin south of the Yangtze River, which have highly developed capital economies, will be separately divided into a special management area to strengthen the management functions of the government and curb the disadvantages caused by the commodity economy. factors, promote the development of commodity economy and even give rise to new production models and productivity.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao decided to promote Wang Shouren and Yan Song to Dongge University Bachelors, and transferred them both to Jiangnan to assist him in rectifying the affairs in Jiangnan before the mining reform plan was finalized.
Zhu Houzhao also asked Wang Shouren to bring two divisions of elite Guards to be prepared!
(End of chapter)