Liu Hanyang quietly looked at the scene of his conversation with Lege a few days ago on the big screen, with a sneer on his lips. Lege keenly observed his expression, and felt uneasy in his heart.
He realized that Liu Hanyang was going to fight back.
"Your Honor, wouldn't it be ridiculous if you asked me to prove my guilt?" Liu Hanyang sneered.
"You personally admitted that you are an important participant and implementer of the entire return plan. No one is coercing you!" Legg said tit for tat.
"Did you coerce me into admitting my guilt?"
Laig was speechless and soon realized that he had been bypassed.
Liu Hanyang cleared his throat and continued: "If I told you that it was gibbering in a trance, a kind of uncontrollable raving, would the court still accept it?"
"Of course the court will not accept it and it will not form evidence," the judge said.
"Your Honor, you can clearly see from the video data just now that I did not engage in any threatening or inducing behavior during the entire interrogation process. The defendant talked to me when he was fully conscious and in good self-esteem. The defendant People have complete autonomy, so his words should be accepted by the court."
"Your Excellency, the prosecutor, you have been emphasizing that you did not threaten or induce me personally. You emphasized that I had complete autonomy at the time, but you tried your best to conceal the truth of the matter. That is an attempt to let me prove my guilt!"
"It's not a cover-up, nor is it asking you to prove it, it's just a statement of a basic fact!"
"The basic fact is that I was in a trance at the time, gibbering and talking nonsense that was divorced from the truth of the matter!"
Liu Hanyang's words brought the focus of the dispute back to the starting point. Prosecutor Legg was a little caught off guard. He stared back and forth between the presiding judge and the jury officers, fearing that they would do something beneficial to Liu Hanyang. ruling.
"I now refute all my previous confessions!"
Liu Hanyang's words immediately caused an uproar in the court. The auditorium was divided into two groups. Both sides argued and argued. The jurors also communicated in low voices and seemed to be involved in the dispute...
With the timely and decisive intervention of the presiding judge, order in the chaotic courtroom was restored.
Legge waited around for a week, then looked at Liu Hanyang, who seemed to be sure of victory, and then at the jury officers on the left and right, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth.
"Please recognize a basic fact, that is, the defendant Liu Hanyang has actually returned to Earth." After saying that, his eyes fell on the presiding judge again, "Your honor, please accept my above point of view."
"Adopted," the presiding judge said.
"The charges I brought against the defendant were the crime of desertion and the crime of refusing to carry out an order, both of which were based on the basic fact that he returned to Earth without authorization."
"What does it mean to be unauthorized?" Liu Hanyang said disapprovingly. He calmed down and continued in a different tone, "The return is a decision unanimously made after discussions between Fleet Commander Snart and all middle and high-level officers. It is also based on the decisions of the fleet. It was a helpless move made due to the cruel reality faced and planning and consideration for the future.”
"How did you know that Fleet Commander Snart discussed this matter with all the middle and high-level officers? Could it be that you were also involved?"
Facing Legg's question, Liu Hanyang was speechless for a moment and didn't even know how to answer.
"As the technical commander-in-chief of the expeditionary fleet, the defendant should be a mid- to high-level officer in terms of rank. Please make this clear, your honor."
The presiding judge nodded.
"According to the defendant, he should also have participated in the so-called deliberations and planning. In other words, the defendant Liu Hanyang is an important participant in the return plan!"
Legg's words stirred up waves, and the audience became noisy again. Those who originally supported Liu Hanyang also switched sides.
"Your Honor, please correct the prosecutor's wrong logic. He is trying to ask me to prove my guilt again!" Liu Hanyang shouted loudly.
"The prosecutor didn't have the intention you said. He just followed your instructions.
To summarize the statement, defendant Liu Hanyang, please pay attention to your attitude, words and deeds. ” warned the presiding judge.
Legg showed a proud look: "Please, your honor and the jurors, please ignore the summary just now and let us return to the basic fact that the defendant actually returned to Earth."
A ray of gloom flashed across Liu Hanyang's face. There was no doubt that he and Zhou Yun had returned to Earth. There must be a secret behind Laige's purpose of mentioning this matter again. He warned himself to be cautious and consider every word he said carefully. Avoid falling into its language trap.
Laige walked towards Liu Hanyang with a smile, but in Liu Hanyang's opinion, his smile was so scary...
He put one hand on the small table in front of Liu Hanyang, approached him, and asked with a smile: "Excuse me, is your return to Earth a personal act, or are you executing the orders of the voyage fleet?"
Liu Hanyang looked at him quietly, but his mind was constantly considering every word he said...
He thought to himself that if the answer was personal behavior, then the crime of "escape from battle" he was accused of would be confirmed. If the answer was to execute the orders of the expedition fleet, his status in the fleet would be enough to prove that he participated in the plan of middle and high-level officers. He is an important participant in the plan to return to Earth and is the specific executor.
The obvious thing to do is not to answer.
"Defendant, please answer my questions," Legg urged.
"Your Honor, the questions asked by the prosecutor are inducing you to make a ruling that is not conducive to this case, and also exceed the boundaries of this case. I have the right not to answer." Liu Hanyang said to the presiding judge.
"No! Defendant Liu Hanyang, the questions asked by the prosecutor are reasonable and legal. You must answer his questions head-on."
Faced with the on-the-spot rejection by the presiding judge, Liu Hanyang was momentarily confused...
After thinking for a long time, he said: "Executing orders is the responsibility of every sailor of the voyage fleet. As a core member of the fleet, I am no exception!"
"Please answer directly, is returning to Earth a personal act of yours, or are you executing the orders of the expedition fleet?" Legg said sternly.
Seeing that Liu Hanyang still refused to answer, Legg turned to the presiding judge and said, "Your honor, the defendant has been secretly changing his concepts in an attempt to get away with it. I request the court to warn him and order him to answer my questions immediately."
"Defendant Liu Hanyang, hereby warn you and answer the prosecutor's questions directly."
Liu Hanyang nodded politely to the presiding judge. It seemed that he had no choice but to not answer. He raised his eyelids and looked out the green window. There was a small garden, which could give him a moment of rest from his nervous and chaotic mood. of relaxation and tranquility.
About a minute later, he withdrew his gaze and said calmly: "Returning to Earth was my personal act. It was I who robbed an armed escort spacecraft of the voyage fleet, held Li Sujia and Zhou Yun hostage, and used force to force them to fight with us. I returned to Earth, and the entire process was my own doing.”
Legg's face was livid. If the case was closed in this way, Liu Hanyang would be sentenced to death for defecting. This did not seem to be the result he wanted. To be precise, it didn't matter what kind of punishment Liu Hanyang was sentenced to. What was important was the crime. Punishment?
Its own meaning seems to have transcended the punishment itself.
Prosecutor Legg immediately proposed to the presiding judge: Since the defendant Liu Hanyang's statement lacked direct and substantive evidence and could not support the establishment of the case, he requested the court to adjourn indefinitely until a complete chain of evidence was completed before resuming the trial.
The trial judge accepted his request.
After the trial, Legg rushed to the office of Li Jianfeng, director-general of the Space Military Administration of the Earth's Federal Ministry of Military Affairs. He told Li Jianfeng the entire trial process of Liu Hanyang's case in detail.
Li Jianfeng said nothing after hearing this. He stood up, walked to the window and pondered for a long time, then returned to his desk. He turned on the holographic screen, which was filled with various reports about Liu Hanyang's case.
"Public opinion has emerged, and the media has done a good job of exaggerating it, but the direction and nature of the case are not what we want." Li Jianfeng said with a serious face.
Legg hurriedly answered: "We still have time, and we will definitely let Liu Hanyang make the return plan important."
Plea guilty to the identity of the plotter. "
"There is one person who can turn the tide of the case and end it in the way we envisioned, but she may not be willing to help you."
"who?"
Li Jianfeng calmly swiped on the holographic screen, and the screen immediately switched to a photo of a woman.
"She!?" Legg stared at the photo with a surprised expression.
"Yes, she is performing a mission at the time-space gate at the Lagrange point between Neptune and Uranus. He knows the entire plan of the voyage fleet's return. However, he asked a person who had a relationship with Liu Hanyang to testify in court and accuse him of guilt. , based on my understanding of her, it’s basically impossible.”
Legg quietly stared at the woman he had never met on the holographic screen. After a moment, he moved his gaze to the text below the photo, which read: Li Sujia.
"Will she be judged too?" Legg asked.
Li Jianfeng shook his head: "She is not affiliated with the expedition fleet. Moreover, she was performing a mission at the time. The Federal Military Ministry has made it clear that she will be exempted from criminal liability by apportioning her merits to her demerits."
"Then I'll convince her and let her appear in court."
"It's better for me to go. Only by confessing our plan to her can she cooperate with us better and guard the gate of time and space with peace of mind. She is an important part of our entire plan."
"When will we set off, Director-General?"
Li Jianfeng stood up: "Right now! But the itinerary needs to be kept secret, so that the Taibo people cannot discover my whereabouts."
"Understood, I'll make arrangements right away."
Two hours later, an interstellar mining formation consisting of three mining ships set off from the earth and headed to the boundary of the solar system - the Kuiper Belt. Li Jianfeng transformed into a crew member and hid in one of the mining ships.
The formation will pass through the space-time gate located at the Lagrange point between Neptune and Uranus where Li Sujia is stationed, and will make a short stop here.
According to the agreement reached between humans and the Tiberians, including the territory of the Earth owned by humans, humans also have the right to explore and conduct mining operations on all stars in the solar system.
Human interstellar mining formations that set off from the territories of Earth and Mars from time to time have been accepted and known by the Tiberians and have long been commonplace.
