Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 582 Is this how a case is tried? What crime should be punished?
The surrounding crowd burst into good-natured laughter.

Being publicly compared to a heroine, Xu Miaojin couldn't help but feel a little proud, but her girlish modesty made her cheeks blush slightly. She could only let out a soft hum and stop talking. Her heroic appearance only made her more charming.

Zhu Yunwen smiled slightly and brought the topic back: "May I ask you all, since the trial of Xi Yunlang is about to begin, do you know the specific time?"

Most people shook their heads. Although they were concerned about the matter, felt indignant on behalf of Xi Yunlang, and hated Tan Nu, they only said a few words, cursed a few words, and spread some rumors in the streets and alleys. Few people cared about or knew the specific details, the date and time of the trial.

Fortunately, some people do know about it.

"Judging by the time, the trial should start today!" someone on the outskirts of the crowd shouted. "I heard that many busybodies have already rushed to the yamen gate to reserve their spots. It's a pity I have to go to work today, otherwise I would definitely have gone to join the fun and see what's going on!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Miaojin's eyes lit up, and she could no longer contain herself. She immediately grabbed Zhu Yunwen's wrist: "Let's go! Let's go and see for ourselves how these corrupt officials manage to distort the truth!"

Before she finished speaking, she had already pulled Zhu Yunwen along like the wind and rushed towards the county government office.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding people stirred for a moment, but most of them eventually shook their heads and dispersed in twos and threes.

While the excitement is worth watching and the injustices worth lamenting, they all have their own things to do.

But for them, filling their stomachs is the most important thing to do right now.

When Zhu Yunwen and Xu Miaojin arrived outside the county government hall, the scene before them still took them by surprise. The square in front of the hall was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, three or four layers deep, completely blocking the way.

The news of Xi Yunlang's murder case spread so widely that even if most people who knew about the case would not come to the hearing, and they didn't even know the specific time of the trial, if even one percent or one in a thousand people came to hear the case, that would be far too many people.

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, when the government held court, it had to take into account both "clearly judging right and wrong" and "educating the people".

Therefore, whenever a trial was held in the main hall, ordinary people were allowed to go and watch the proceedings.

This is also a way to educate the public about the law using real-life cases, reminding them to abide by the law. Otherwise, the truth will prevail in court, and those who commit crimes will ultimately not escape the long arm of the law.

Of course, this disclosure is also subject to limitations.

Often, the initial review will be conducted in the "back room".

In this situation, ordinary people are not allowed to gather and watch.

A public trial in the main hall indicates that a definite result has already been reached; it's just a matter of "re-examining" the case, going through the motions in front of everyone, before the formal verdict is announced.

After Zhu Yunwen implemented the new policies and ordered the establishment of legal departments in county governments, most cases were tried in the legal departments. However, for major cases involving death, the county magistrate would still hold a public trial to formally complete the final judgment.

The Xi Yunlang murder case caused a great uproar in the city, and this final "public trial" naturally had to be conducted in full view of the public.

The government offices did not conceal the proceedings and forbade ordinary people from coming to hear the trial.

After all, all the necessary procedures had been completed before the formal public trial, and the case had already been concluded; the public trial was merely a formality.

The government was naturally happy to hold a public trial so that the people could witness it and quell any public discussion.

Furthermore, this case has reached the highest levels of government, and the officials are all aware of it.

The emperor is currently touring the north and is resting at a post station outside the city. Whether or not a public trial will be held will likely reach the emperor's ears.

They certainly had no need to "falsify" such procedures and incur the emperor's wrath.

To turn a wrongful conviction into an ironclad case, it must at least be handled flawlessly. This kind of high-profile event is exactly what's needed to give this "ironclad case" a false seal of "openness and fairness," to show that there was absolutely no foul play in the investigation process.

The courtyard in front of the court was already packed with onlookers, making it difficult to even find a place to stand.

Zhu Yunwen and Xu Miaojin only managed to squeeze to the front thanks to the clever clearing of the way by the hidden guards.

The two had just steadied themselves when a loud bang was heard from the hall!
"boom!"

The gavel slammed down, followed by a stern command:

"Ascension!"

At Tang Wei's command, the two groups of yamen runners responded in unison, slamming their water and fire sticks on the ground with a dull thud, instantly creating a tense atmosphere.

"mighty--!"

Zhu Yunwen's gaze quickly swept across the hall.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed something unusual. Behind the case, instead of a single high-ranking official, sat five officials of varying ranks, forming an unusually grand lineup for the trial.

During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, he established strict regulations on the design of official robes: "civil officials should wear birds, and military officials should wear beasts," making their rank immediately apparent.

The ranks are clearly defined: first-rank crane, second-rank golden pheasant, third-rank peacock, fourth-rank wild goose, fifth-rank silver pheasant, sixth-rank egret, seventh-rank mandarin duck, eighth-rank quail, and ninth-rank magpie.

Zhu Yunwen implemented new policies and made changes to many systems, but the rank insignia system, which identified official ranks, was completely inherited because it was intuitive and convenient.

At that moment, with a single glance, he had already guessed the identities of the five people in the hall.

The presiding judge in the center, dressed in the peacock-embroidered robes of a third-rank official, with a solemn face and composed demeanor, was undoubtedly the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

The name of this person flashed through Zhu Yunwen's mind instantly.

Shen Mo!

If he were still in Nanjing, he probably wouldn't have had a deep impression of officials of this rank.

But since he was inspecting Shandong, he naturally paid more attention to the officials in Shandong.

I had seen this person in a memorial to the throne.

As for the officials beside the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the ranks were clearly distinguished: Yunyan, a fourth-rank official; Baixian, a fifth-rank official; and the seventh-rank official at the end of the table, Mandarin Duck, was presumably the local official, the magistrate of Shan County.

The fact that a murder case in an ordinary county town could attract the attention of the provincial judicial chief, who personally oversaw the trial along with several high-ranking officials, speaks volumes about the case's significance.

After all, Xi Zhaoxue had genuinely presented the petition to the emperor himself. No matter how much the officials in Shandong wanted to cover it up, they still had to maintain appearances.

However, in Zhu Yunwen's view, the fact that the case was led by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office, rather than by the newly established Provincial Judicial Commissioner's Office, precisely illustrates the resistance and growing pains that his reforms encountered in reality.

According to Zhu Yunwen's plan, each province should have a judicial office under the Ministry of Justice, parallel to the provincial judicial office, to exclusively hold the power of adjudication, thereby separating the power of investigation from the power of adjudication in order to achieve the greatest possible fairness.

The county has its own legal office, the prefecture has its own legal department, the province has its own legal department, and so on up to the imperial court's Ministry of Justice, forming a unified and independent judicial system from the bottom up.

However, ideals are lofty, but reality often presents many obstacles.

The provincial judicial department is a completely new institution, established from scratch. The selection of personnel and the integration of the organization will take time, unlike the county and prefectural levels, where simply reforming the existing clerks and criminal offices is sufficient to get it on track quickly. Currently, this newly formed provincial judicial department is already struggling to guide lower-level legal departments in handling cases, and is simply unable to immediately take over and personally try complex and difficult cases like this, which directly reach the emperor's ears and are deeply entrenched in intricate details.

Therefore, temporarily entrusting the retrial of this case to the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, who is already responsible for criminal investigation, can be considered a temporary expedient during the transition period.

After all, reform is not something that can be accomplished overnight, and the transfer of power between the old and new institutions always requires a gradual process.

Ultimately, the newly established provincial government offices still lack a solid foundation.

During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, there was no complete provincial-level government office. Instead, there were only three offices: the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Provincial Military Commission. These three offices had separate powers and were not subordinate to each other.

After Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he overruled objections and established the position of governor, who held supreme power over a province and managed all departments. He also added many new functional departments.

These new institutions are still struggling to operate and integrate.

Priority can be given to ensuring the operation of core functions. Other matters will be temporarily managed by the original organization and will be gradually transferred later when staff are in place and processes are running smoothly.

The road to reform is long and arduous.

Under his swift and decisive leadership, the reforms in the Ming Dynasty have been progressing rapidly, but it will still take time for every part of this massive imperial machine to operate seamlessly.

As the drum sounded to signal the start of the proceedings, the crowd listening below stirred slightly, and a buzz of whispers arose.

"Silence!" A head constable immediately stepped forward and shouted in a booming voice, "This is a court trial. No one in the audience is allowed to make noise. Anyone who makes a disturbance will be expelled from the yamen immediately!"

The room fell silent instantly.

At this moment, the Provincial Inspector Shen Mo, who was sitting in the high seat in the center, looked calmly to one side and said indifferently, "Magistrate Zhao, today this case is being retried in the Shan County government office, so you will still preside over the trial. We can just listen in."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenyuan, the magistrate of Shanxian County, who was seated to the side, dared not be negligent. He immediately rose from his seat, bowed, and said, "Since it is the order of the Provincial Judge, this humble official will obey!"

Having said that, he turned to the audience below, his voice deepening, and ordered, "Summon the plaintiff, the defendant, and all witnesses to the court."

Soon, several constables led the group into the main hall.

The one leading the group was Xi Zhaoxue, who had previously stopped the emperor to file a complaint. Behind her was a young man in shackles, presumably her younger brother, Xi Yunlang.

At the end of the line was a woman with a pregnant belly.

The moment Xi Zhaoxue's gaze fell upon the woman, her eyes instantly ignited with a deep-seated hatred, her nails digging deep into her palms as if she wanted to devour the woman alive.

Judging from her appearance, it is clear that this woman is none other than Tan Nu, who "framed" Xi Yunlang.

Because of his official position, Zhao Wenyuan was not seated in the center of the hall, far from the desk, so he could not use the gavel.

Once all the witnesses and the accused were in position, he stood up, turned his gaze to Xi Zhaoxue, and asked in a deep voice, "Xi Zhaoxue, you claim that your younger brother, Xi Yunlang, was beaten and injured on the third day of the fifth month this year, and is bedridden and unable to go out. Are there any witnesses?"

Xi Zhaoxue replied without hesitation, "Your Excellency, all of my neighbors can testify to this matter."

"In addition, the woman once invited Doctor Li from Renxintang in the south of the city to treat her younger brother, and he can also testify to this."

Zhao Wenyuan nodded slightly and continued, "Are all the witnesses present? Is it possible for them to confront each other in court?"

“I am already waiting for trial in the side hall,” Xi Zhaoxue replied.

"Summon all the witnesses to the court!" Zhao Wenyuan immediately ordered loudly.

A moment later, the bailiffs brought in six commoners.

Upon entering the courtroom, the six men knelt down in fear, kowtowed, and then each gave their names and identities.

Five of them were indeed neighbors of the Xi family, and the other was that Doctor Li.

A neighbor spoke first: "Sir, Xi Yunlang was indeed badly beaten. On the third day of the fifth month, he was lying in bed groaning. I live next door to him and visited him; I can testify to that."

The other neighbors chimed in with their own opinions.

Zhao Wenyuan's face was ashen as he pressed on, "So, did you see his wounds with your own eyes, or did you only see him lying on the bed without undressing him to examine his injuries?"

"This..." The neighbors were speechless for a moment, looking at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Zhao Wenyuan's tone turned cold: "What is there to hesitate about? Just answer the truth!"

After a long while, one of the bolder neighbors replied, "Your Excellency, we were just visiting him to check on his health, so it would be inappropriate for us to undress him and look at him."

The others, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly echoed the sentiment.

A barely perceptible sneer appeared on Zhao Wenyuan's lips: "That's right."

"Since you haven't seen his injury yourself, how can you determine whether he is truly injured or feigning injury?"

He leaned forward, his tone becoming even more menacing: "If he had planned this murder in advance, deliberately feigning serious injury and being bedridden to deceive everyone, wouldn't you all be completely fooled by him?"

"Ah..." The neighbors were speechless once again.

Although they were unwilling to believe it, they had to admit that the magistrate's questioning seemed... seemed... not entirely unreasonable.

But something just felt off.

"That's not right!" Finally, a neighbor realized what was happening and argued, "Our dogs bark right next to his; if he went out, there's no way I wouldn't have seen him!"

Upon hearing this, the others seemed to realize something and exclaimed, "That's right! There are so many people coming and going in the village. If he went out, we would definitely see him. But in those few days, none of us saw him step out of his house even once!"

"Good question." Instead of being angry, Zhao Wenyuan nodded and said, "I'll ask you again, your village is not like the county town, there are no streetlights."

"After nightfall, it was pitch black all around, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face."

"Did you also stay up all night back then, keeping watch outside to see who was coming and going on the road?"

Before anyone could answer, he fired off a barrage of questions: "If Xi Yunlang is feigning illness during the day, then when night falls and all is quiet, he will quietly leave home, sneak out under the cover of darkness, and return before dawn."

"In this way, he kills without a trace and returns home without a sound. How could you possibly know the slightest thing about him?"

A series of rhetorical questions struck the neighbors like a hammer blow, leaving them speechless and their minds blank, completely at a loss for words.

……

(End of this chapter)