In the next few days, in addition to formulating and testing drill projects under his command, Zhou Changfeng submitted an application to the Naval Department of the Ministry of War to join the Spanish military expedition team.
In addition, he also wrote a short article about his experience in suppressing bandits, called "A Brief Discussion on the Use of Gunships in Public Security and Stability Maintenance Operations", which he hopes can be used as a starting point.
After that, with the end of the five-day drill, seven or eight of the scattered bandits were also picked out in the past few days. As for the rest... the Governor's Office meant not to worry about it, and there were only a few bandits. Even a remnant bandit can't get out of trouble.
The morning of February 18th.
Last night, a thin, dense, yarn-like spring rain fell in Yilingzhou, so the air this morning was extremely fresh.
Zhou Changfeng, who was dressed in regular clothes and carrying his own sword on his waist, drove to the execution ground by car.
The place was already packed with people, and many people had to walk through the mud to watch the execution even before dawn.
Since ancient times, according to traditional Chinese rules, any death penalty in the world theoretically needs to be approved by the emperor.
For example, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, any death penalty case across the country had to be sent to the capital for trial by the Ministry of Punishment, followed by review by Dali Temple, and then handed over to the imperial court. , the Metropolitan Procuratorate supervised the entire process.
This seems extremely fair and just, and there were often few death penalty cases throughout the year during the Taiping era. However, in fact, there was a word in ancient times called "death", which refers to someone who died in prison without explanation.
Therefore, "the county magistrate who broke the family" is by no means a lie. As long as the magistrate is willing, he can detain the person in the prison cell without any conviction, just lock him up like this, and then ask for "filial piety" from his family, otherwise this person will " "Inexplicably" died.
Of course, ancient times are ancient times, and today's Ming Dynasty... is still better in this regard. After all, modernization in all aspects is on the right track.
What is interesting is that the Ming Dynasty still retains its traditional operating mechanism in the case handling process to a large extent. This process is quite praised by Westerners, who think it is "incredibly rigorous and fair."
The crimes committed by the bandits are too numerous to describe, but in the spirit of fairness and justice, the more than thirty bandits captured were carefully screened one by one, because many of them were fugitives with previous cases.
The official of Yiling Prefecture publicly pronounced that all the bandits were sentenced to death. Except for three people who were sentenced to "execution after autumn," the others were sentenced to "never wait for the time."
Now the grassroots judicial power of the Ming Dynasty has been separated from the county magistrate, prefecture magistrate, and magistrate. Tuiguan has complete judicial decision-making power, and this official position has been expanded from the ancient prefecture-level subordinate officials to the county level.
After hearing the results of the trial, the people watching nearby cheered in unison, and cheers came from the crowd.
"This time is really unprecedented. How long? Three quarters of an hour?" Xue Can asked, looking around in great interest.
Zhou Changfeng raised his hand and looked at his watch, "One hour and four minutes."
At least in this matter that received much attention, the Ming government and the court showed unusually high efficiency.
The Yiling Prefecture government reported the verdict across levels to the Ministry of Punishment, and then reviewed it in seconds at Dali Temple. Then they stopped briefly at the emperor's place and quickly issued a decree agreeing to the execution on the spot.
The gloomy clouds dissipated, the sky cleared up, the warm sunshine shone on the earth, and a looming rainbow seemed to appear in the moist and fresh air.
Two Taoist priests from the Fenxun Dao and Bingbei Dao who were in charge of Guizhou and Yiling Prefecture also made a special trip to "watch the execution". Naturally, they were extremely disgusted with these bandits who had tarnished their political achievements.
So under the witness and records of reporters from many newspapers, the Yiling Prefecture police officers escorted the bandits with their hands tied behind their backs and death cards stuck behind their backs to the middle of the execution ground, and they lined up one by one.
In the outer areas, the military police platoon of the Marine Regiment was wandering with submachine guns and automatic guns. The blued gun barrels gave off a cold light under the sunlight.
"Tie their trousers tight, damn, or else they'll be leaking shit and piss!"
"Have you finished drawing the lots? The person who drew the lot will come and get the bullet."
The execution police officers worked in teams of two, each received a bullet, stood one step behind the condemned prisoner, and shot in the back.
After one person shoots, the other person fires a follow-up shot to prevent a fatal mistake due to hand shaking or being secretly bribed.
Zhou Changfeng also saw many people bringing their children to watch the fun. There were many children riding on their father's shoulders, pointing and asking questions.
Co-authoring this has become a special parent-child activity in Ming Dynasty, right?
"It's almost time. Let's prepare for the execution now!"
"yes."
Some of the tightly restrained prisoners on death row were trembling all over, while others were staring blankly and mumbling to themselves.
However, there are also some people who are very arrogant, knowing that they are about to die, and still shouting that this life is enjoyable and worth it!
"It's worth your mother's legs, you idiot!"
"Prepare...release!"
"Bang! Bang!"
The abstract criminal law was coldly embodied at this moment - a rifle bullet of several thousand joules penetrated through the back and tore a large hole in the chest when it exited, and the ground was splattered with blood.
This cycle repeats, and the bandits are shot one by one.
Soon, there were a bunch of corpses lying on the ground.
In the fresh air after the rain, the fishy and bloody smell was particularly pungent and disgusting.
In addition to the thirty-two people executed, three others were sentenced to death, which is equivalent to a reprieve of death.
During the random inspection and interrogation process, everyone also discovered a more serious problem - why are the British secretly stirring up trouble?
After the report was reported, the Foreign Investigation Factory quickly sent people to participate in the investigation.
Cases of the British infiltrating the Ming Dynasty and encouraging and supporting people with ulterior motives have been common in recent years. After the foreign factory took over, they handled it with ease.
However, the 1st Marine Regiment did not stay long and soon prepared to return.
"Each team boards the bus in turn!"
"Pay attention to your things and don't leave them behind!"
At noon, at the Yilingzhou Railway Station, two military trains had completed adding coal and water, and were ready to go. Soldiers were boarding the trains one after another.
Last night, officials such as the magistrate and the magistrate of the state organized a treat for the troops with the local gentry and merchants. There was plenty of food and fish, but they couldn't enjoy the wine because the 1st Marine Regiment had to set off the next day. .
The officials and people of Yiling Prefecture were very surprised by this force that "comes quickly, handles things quickly, and leaves quickly." Due to the banditry, troops were often transferred here for three to five years to suppress the troops.
However, this is the first time I have seen such a force that is sharp, straightforward, and unobtrusive.
Zhizhou, who came to see him off, was quite emotional. At first, they all thought that this army coming from afar would have to suffer a lot, but they didn't expect that it would be solved like a storm in a few days.
Merchants are more comfortable. In the past, they had to worry about their goods and merchandise being robbed. In the future, it seems that they can finally feel free and bold.
When they were happy, they decided to send a Wanmin Umbrella and a plaque. However, due to the tight schedule, they had to work all night and stay up all night for two days before they could finally succeed.
I recommend a work by a group of friends. If you are interested, you can check it out.
(End of chapter)
