The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 415 Another seemingly simple case
The motorcades of the twelve princes stopped one after another. The car in which the eldest prince Zhu Jingkun was riding was closer to the front of the convoy, and he vaguely heard something the people in front were shouting.

The princes behind didn't know what had happened, but they knew that there must have been some unexpected situation, otherwise it would be impossible for them to stop halfway shortly after leaving the station.

The eldest prince Zhu Jingkun immediately asked the accompanying guards to get off the car to confirm what had happened ahead and the safety of the surrounding area.

The Jinyiwei who were responsible for maintaining order at the scene almost subconsciously prepared to drag away the three men who were crying out for innocence, not wanting this unexpected situation to affect the princes and officials who had just arrived.

But any Jinyiwei official with a little experience knew that once these people broke into the convoy and stopped it, the matter could no longer be covered up.

The new officers in the car already knew that an accident had occurred outside, and they should naturally figure out what had happened.

Unless the newly appointed officials just want to waste time and gain experience and don't want to deal with such sudden and unexpected cases.

Otherwise, if they forcibly dragged these people away, they would likely be charged with deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth, and at the very least, it would give the newly appointed officials a handle.

It would be fine if the new official was just an ordinary bureaucrat, but we could also make the new official ignore this matter through exchange of interests.

However, all the officials who took office this time were princes, and there were also inspectors in charge of supervision.

If there was only one prince, it would be fine. He might also be able to get hold of the leverage over the former officials, making it easier for him to cooperate with or control the officials.

But with twelve princes coming at once, this matter could only be handled impartially.

Any other tricks are dangerous.

So when the commander of the Guangdong Jinyiwei learned about the situation, he quickly got out of the car to stop the ordinary Jinyiwei from dragging people away.

Then he arranged for people to notify the princes, and at the same time arranged for his subordinates to investigate the situations of these three people, and find out what had happened to them as quickly as possible.

The guards sent by the princes also arrived at the scene quickly, and when they saw the scene, they asked directly:

"what happened?"

"what happened?"

"Is this someone blocking the road and crying out for justice?"

The three men were surrounded by a group of Jinyiwei to prevent them from suddenly attacking and hurting people, but they were not stopped from talking.

When they saw that senior officials were coming, they continued to shout out their injustice.

The commander of the Guangdong Jinyiwei also hurriedly bowed and reported:

"Yes, someone is blocking the road and crying out for justice. Could you please ask your Highnesses whether you want to handle it personally?"

The guards of the palace took a quick look at the situation and reminded the Jinyiwei commander on the scene:

"We sent someone back to report, and now we have confirmed that the surrounding area is safe."

"Search the bodies of these three people to make sure they are not carrying any weapons."

"Look at their limbs and hands to get a rough idea of ​​who they are."

"Ask them why they are blocking the road to protest and what their grievances are."

"Do you have a written complaint?"

The Jinyiwei commander bowed and agreed:

"We understand."

The commander of the Guangdong Embroidered Uniform Guard sent his subordinates over to inquire.

The oldest of the three men directly handed over a written complaint and cried loudly to the guards:

"Our brothers' father was beaten to death by the Jinyiwei of Huashan County. Please, sir, help us!"

There was no Huashan County in Zhu Jianxuan's previous life. There was only a Hua County which was established during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. It was established by demarcating part of the northern part of Panyu County.

This Hua County later became the predecessor of Guangzhou's Huadu District.

The situation of Huashan County in Daming is similar to that of Hua County, and even the origins of the names are very similar, because the county seat was chosen at the foot of Huashan Mountain.

However, Huashan County was established in the middle and late Chongzhen period, and its jurisdiction was much larger than that of Hua County, which had just appeared in history. The area north of the Guangzhou city wall was under the jurisdiction of Huashan County.

This is a new type of county town which is not attached to the city walls, but its jurisdiction is within the city walls. Similar situations can be found in all parts of the Ming Dynasty today.

Huashan County is more than 30 kilometers away from Guangzhou Prefecture. Although Guangzhou Prefecture has been building rapidly in recent years, its main directions are southeast and west.

In the Huashan County area in the north, although the built-up area is much larger than before, it is still quite remote compared to the Guangzhou city.

When the officials of the Guangdong Jinyiwei heard the three men's shouts, they suddenly felt a darkness before their eyes.

The commander of the Guangdong Embroidered Uniform Guard took the complaint handed over by his subordinates, glanced at the general content, shook his head and handed it to the Guangdong Chief Justice beside him.

Two years ago, Zhu Jianxuan initiated the reform of splitting up the Judicial Supervisory Commissioners and established an independent Judicial Supervisory Commissioner to be responsible for judicial trials.

We also took the opportunity of this reform to stipulate the process of case acceptance, investigation and trial.

The Jinyiwei agency under the provincial governor, prefect and other government officials was equivalent to the police agency in later generations and was responsible for carrying out specific investigation matters.

The Ti Dian Xing Yu Si and the Ti Xing Guan were responsible for accepting cases and conducting trials.

The Censorate was responsible for supervising officials, overseeing the entire process, and signing official complaints.

Now that the parties have written the complaint, the subsequent handling will mainly be handled by the Ministry of Justice.

If we want to continue the investigation, we must also ask the Criminal Justice Department to assign tasks to the Jinyiwei.

The Ti Dian Xingyu is commonly known as the Ti Xing Guan. He does not have any special ideas at the moment, as he is about to hand over the position to the succeeding prince.

Even if I take over this matter, I don't need to handle it myself.

This matter was also caused by the Jinyiwei below, and has nothing to do with me as the Chief Justice.

The responsibility probably won't fall on you.

But they have to consider whether the princes are willing to take on this matter and deal with such troublesome matters.

Therefore, the Guangdong prison official did not immediately express his opinion, but said to the princes' guards:

"Please ask your Highnesses how to deal with this matter. Should we accept this complaint or drive them away first?"

The princes' guards returned in two groups. The first group came to report that someone was blocking the road and crying out for justice.

After receiving the notification, several princes considered and waited for a while.

Ask the guards to check the surrounding situation to make sure that these three people are the only ones crying out for justice and there are no other suspicious persons around.

In fact, most princes were not willing to come forward directly under such circumstances.

Because there are risks.

Zhu Jianxuan taught them since they were young to try not to put themselves in danger at any time.

Arranging guard checks is only a rough idea. If emergencies can be completely avoided, the three people who cried out for injustice should not have appeared.

If there was only one prince present, he would not get out of the car at all, but would only ask the guards and subordinates to inquire about the situation.

But now that a group of princes are together, we can only take a little risk.

Otherwise, if others go down and ask in person, but you don't check the situation, it may affect the relationship in the future.

When the guard came back for the second report, he brought back the general situation of the previous incident, explaining that it was three brothers who accused the Jinyiwei of Hua County. The incident itself did not seem complicated and was not particularly uncommon at the grassroots level.

Torture had not yet been abolished in this era, and some of the grassroots Jinyiwei were retired soldiers, and many were former yamen runners.

No one has taught them to treat ordinary people as human beings, so it is difficult to prevent things like beatings and torture.

The princes have all received training at the grassroots level and are aware of this situation.

The princes got off the car one after another. The eldest prince Zhu Jingkun, who was closest to the scene, arrived first and took the complaint from the chief judge.

The current Guangdong Chief Justice remembers that the eldest prince's position was provincial governor.

This kind of thing should be the responsibility of the Censor and the Chief Justice, but he did not dare to stop the eldest prince after he had made his move.

Moreover, the local Jinyiwei responsible for the specific investigation is under the jurisdiction of the provincial governor.

The eldest prince Zhu Jingkun took a quick look at it and handed it to the second prince who followed behind. The second prince was the newly appointed Chief of Prisons, commonly known as the Chief Justice.

The third prince was the provincial prosecutor. When he arrived at the scene, he reached out to take it and read the contents of the complaint with the second prince.

The princes were all wearing the same casual clothes as the prince, and they were particularly eye-catching when standing together.

The three men kneeling on the ground were all a little confused when looking at the situation in front of them. What happened today was far beyond their expectations.

They went from Huashan County to the prefectural capital and the provincial capital to appeal for justice. They would have gone directly to the government office and the Ministry of Justice to appeal for justice.

They came directly to block the road and appeal for justice because they learned that a new official was about to take office. Unexpectedly, they stopped a group of princes.

After the Second Prince finished reading the contents of the complaint, he looked directly at the brothers who were walking over:
"The content of the complaint is very simple. A family surnamed Xian in Huashan County lost something while building a house. They suspected that it was done by the father of three brothers surnamed Lin who were working in their house.

"The Jinyiwei of Huashan County arrested their father, Lin Shuisheng, for questioning.

"Lin Shuisheng had caught a cold at the time and was arrested and beaten by the Jinyiwei of Huashan County. He was imprisoned and not allowed to visit or get medical treatment. As a result, he died from his injuries.

"After their father passed away, the neighboring Xian family withdrew the lawsuit...

"Now the three Lin brothers are suing the Jinyiwei of Huashan County for arresting their father without any evidence and beating him to death."

After reading the complaint, several princes couldn't help but frown.

Just as the second prince said, the case itself seems simple, but it is precisely because it is too simple that it feels difficult.

Their father was beaten to death, but there was no rule that said the Jinyiwei could not beat prisoners.

The Third Prince was the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. He frowned and said:
“What is stated in the complaint may not be the entire truth, so let’s first call the Jinyiwei of Huashan County and the head of the Xian family who is suspected of having his house robbed to Guangzhou for questioning.

"But who should accept and judge the case? Should we let the Guangzhou Judicial Department, Huashan County's superior, be responsible for it, or should we skip a level and hand it over to the Guangdong Judicial Department?"

The Censor was responsible for the inspection and supervision of official and civilian affairs in a province. There were special arrangements to investigate officials and bring lawsuits. This arrangement was indeed the work of the Censor.

The tenth prince is the chief judge of Guangzhou Prefecture, and the second prince is the chief judge of Guangdong Province.

The two were a little hesitant when they heard the voice. They wanted to take over the matter to gain some merit for themselves, but they were also worried that there might be some big pitfalls behind this matter.

At this time, the eldest prince found an opportunity and made a simple suggestion:

“According to the emperor’s request, we should make collective decisions internally and connect with other institutions externally according to our positions, that is, we should follow the normal process.

"So the Royal Guards should investigate as they should, and the external trials should proceed from the bottom up, but the final verdict will be decided by us together."

Several princes reacted, and the Tenth Prince immediately spoke up when he heard the voice:
"The parties involved are all officials under the Guangzhou Prefecture, so the case will be accepted by the current Guangzhou Prefecture Criminal Prosecutor first, and then transferred to the new Guangzhou Criminal Prosecutor for handling, right?"

The second prince was silent for a few seconds and accepted this arrangement:

"This is indeed the way to go according to normal procedures. Let the Tenth Brother be in charge of the specific review, and we will follow up and give advice."

These are the rules set at two decision-making meetings last night and this morning.

Internal decisions can be made slowly internally, but external contacts should follow established official procedures and be as standard or even rigid as possible.

This can at least avoid external conflicts.

Two key personnel, the Second Prince and the Tenth Prince, both accepted the arrangement.

The Third Prince, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, continued:
"In order to prevent accidents, we should arrange for people to control and protect the three Lin brothers and related personnel. This should be the responsibility of the Jinyiwei, right?"

The eldest prince looked at the fifth prince:
"Fifth brother, ninth brother."

The fifth prince's position was councillor of Guangdong Provincial Administration and commander of Guangdong Embroidered Uniform Guard. In name, he was the direct subordinate of the governor.

As the prefect of Guangzhou, the ninth prince should have a captain of the Guangzhou Jinyiwei under him, but the emperor did not arrange for the prince to hold the position concurrently, and the current ordinary officials will continue to hold the position.

The Fifth Prince took over the conversation as a matter of course according to his status:

“I will arrange this matter, but for cases like this involving local officials, the control and protection of the parties involved cannot be done directly by the local Jinyiwei.

“We haven’t figured out the local situation yet, so we can’t guarantee that someone won’t take desperate measures.

"So, brothers and sisters, please send out a guard to do this temporary job.

"I'll talk about it after I figure out the situation of the Jinyiwei in Guangdong and Guangzhou."

Some of the princes did not expect this, but they suddenly realized it after hearing the reminder, and then no one questioned it and they agreed directly.

The Ninth Prince hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately said nothing more.

Because of the rules determined in the meetings over the past two days, all external affairs should be taken over by the prince as much as possible, and should not be passed through other ordinary officials as much as possible.

Although the Captain of the Jinyiwei Guards of Guangzhou Prefecture was also present at the scene, he merely greeted the Ninth Prince.

There was no actual contact at all, so I had no idea what the other party was thinking or what their attitude toward me was.

The Ninth Prince is just looking for trouble if he wants to take power from other princes and give it to him.

The fifth prince asked his brothers for a group of guards and formed a team to specifically accommodate the parties involved in the Jinyiwei case in Huashan County.

The three brothers were directly pulled onto the empty car in the convoy accompanying the princes.

Things were temporarily arranged, and everyone was supposed to get on the car and set off to the governor's office.

However, as a large convoy passed by, some people blocked the road and protested their injustice, and more and more Guangzhou residents gathered around to watch the fun.

The eldest prince Zhu Jingkun thought for a few seconds and said a few words loudly to the people around him:
"I am the eldest son of the current emperor, and I will serve as the governor of Guangdong for the next two years.

"These are my younger brothers, and they will serve as government officials at all levels in Guangdong Province.

"We brothers will jointly handle all affairs of Guangdong Province.

"If local people have any grievances or suggestions about Guangdong local affairs, they can go to the government offices of various prefectures and counties to make their opinions known.

"We will definitely handle this impartially and give everyone justice, so please don't worry."

The people around had not expected that the eldest prince would be so courteous and humble. Many of them subconsciously cheered loudly after hearing it.

However, Zhu Jingkun's brothers were not in a good mood. They all felt that their big brother was trying to steal the limelight again.

After saying these words, Zhu Jingkun bowed to everyone around him, then returned to his car and ordered the convoy to set off again for the Governor's Office.

(End of this chapter)