Dong dong dong...
The sound of the three-way drum early the next morning alarmed everyone in the yamen, especially Song Zhili, who was the county magistrate.
He was still asleep and had no idea what was happening?
"Sir Song," the catcher Cheng Xiao quickly came to report, "Sir Ma suddenly wants to go to court for trial!"
"What!?" Song Zhili suddenly broke into a cold sweat and repeated at a loss, "Sent to court for trial?"
"Yes," Cheng Xiao reported, "Master Sima took people to the South Prison Prison early in the morning to arrest people, and now they are going to the court to hear Qiu Batian's case!"
"What?" Song Zhili was startled again and muttered, "What does he want to do again? Aren't he waiting for news? What does it mean to start a case now?"
"Sir," Cheng Xiao hurriedly reported, "Now Qiu Batian, his men, and those who complained have been brought to the court. We can't stop them, and we don't dare to stop them. You'd better go and have a look. !”
"Ouch, South Prison Prison!" Suddenly, Song Zhili came to his senses and asked hurriedly, "Oh no, Master Sima must have gone to the South Prison Prison to interrogate Qiu Batian. Did Qiu Batian say something to him? Don’t you want to overturn the verdict?”
"No, no," Cheng Xiao said hurriedly, "I have been keeping an eye on this matter. Don't worry, Qiu Batian confessed to his crime and admitted that he was responsible for the case. There was no overturning the case."
"Huh... That's good, that's good..." Song Zhili wiped his cold sweat, then calmed down and said, "As long as Qiu Batian pleads guilty, everything is still under control."
"Sir," Cheng Xiao whispered at this time, "Do you think... Sir Sima has also received the news?"
oh?
Song Zhili rolled his eyes and immediately understood what Cheng Xiao meant.
After all, the sacking of the Minister of Civil Service was a big deal, and it was impossible for Sima Xin not to receive the news. Could it be that... was this case to be handled impartially?
Or is it the group of forces who want to bring down the Minister of Civil Affairs? Since they have done such a big game, there is no reason for them to sit idly by, right?
Time was running out, Song Zhili stopped thinking, hurriedly changed into his official uniform, and hurried to the court with Cheng Xiao.
When I arrived at the court, I saw that it was already overcrowded.
On one side were Qiu Batian and a group of criminals, and on the other side were the villagers who had complained, and together with the government officials, there were fifty or sixty people by visual inspection.
But seeing Sima Xin, who joined the army in Songzhou, sitting upright in the middle, and Cai Jin, the county governor, sitting on the side seat, he was obviously ready to go to court to hear the case.
this……
Song Zhili was about to go up to ask, but he saw the county governor Cai Jin waving his sleeves at him, which meant that he would stand aside and listen.
Good guy...
Song Zhili was secretly angry. This was his territory, but now he didn't even have a seat, so he became a spectator.
Snapped!
Master Sima was born in the military. He slapped the gavel hard and the scene suddenly became quiet.
"Bring someone to commit the crime!"
Sima Xin called out loudly again, the sound was like a loud bell, showing his majesty.
Immediately, officers from the state capital took Qiu Batian and others to the center of the lobby.
For two days, these people were tortured so much that they knelt down and trembled in fear.
"Qiu Zhennong, I'll ask you again," Sima Xin said, getting straight to the point. "Can you plead guilty to the case of kidnapping and desecrating the civilian girl Ailian and killing Old Man Li and his daughter?"
"I admit it, I admit it, wuwu..." Qiu Batian knelt down and cried loudly, "I plead guilty, plead guilty..."
After two days of torture, Qiu Batian was as frightened as a bird, fearing that he would suffer physical pain again.
Although this kind of person is usually arrogant, domineering, violent and wanton, he cannot endure any hardship at all, and his fragile psychological defense has long since collapsed.
"Okay," Sima Xin nodded, "Since you have pleaded guilty, there is no need to retry this case! Someone, push Qiu Zhennong out and show his head to the public!!"
ah! ?
Sima Xin's words were a big surprise, and the scene suddenly fell into silence.
According to Daxuan Laws and Regulations, the county government's handling of death row prisoners must go through layers of review before execution. Although it does not require the emperor's approval, it must at least be approved by the county government, the state government, and even the Ministry of Punishment. Even if the sentence is "execution", it will not be executed. It will take at least two months before it can be implemented.
"What!?"
Qiu Batian was like a bolt from the blue, completely frightened.
The reason why he confessed so readily was because he knew that he would not be executed soon. As long as he was given time, his uncle, who was the Minister of Civil Affairs, would definitely be able to save him!
Therefore, in order to avoid suffering any physical pain, he confessed to the crime.
However, what he didn't expect was that the official who was investigating the case did not follow the routine and was about to kill him now!
"Why are you standing there in a daze?" Seeing everyone in a daze, Sima Xin shouted, "Didn't you hear what I said? Pull him out and show his head to the public!!!"
"Yes!" Several officers quickly stepped out of the queue to pull Qiu Batian.
At this moment, Song Zhili, like everyone else, felt incredible about Sima Xin's behavior.
Logically speaking, he should immediately step forward to stop him and point out that Si Ma Xin's operation was illegal.
However, he was quick to realize, was this the work of those behind the scenes?
They have put pressure on Sima Xin. As long as Qiu Batian is killed first, it will be a death without evidence. In the future, they can better use this case to attack the Minister of Civil Affairs?
Otherwise, it would obviously be troublesome if Qiu Batian recanted his confession in the future.
Thinking of this, Song Zhili simply stood still and did not move.
"My lord, my lord... it's not right, it's not right!" Seeing that he was really being taken away for questioning, Qiu Batian was completely frightened and shouted quickly, "That's not what I said beforehand. Even if I am guilty, I can't be so quick. Wenzhan! Sir, my uncle is Qiu Kai, the Minister of Civil Affairs. You...you can't kill me..."
"You bastard!" Sima Xin was shocked. "The emperor breaks the law and the common people are guilty as well. So what if your uncle is the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs?"
"But... but... Sir..." Qiu Batian was so frightened that he lost his pulse and shouted quickly, "What you did is against the law. How could the county government ask directly?"
"Hmph," Sima Xin stood up and shouted loudly, "I join the army from Songzhou, and all the death row prisoners in this state are finally reviewed by me. For death row prisoners like you who have committed such serious crimes, I have enough experience. I will punish you on the spot!
"Since you have confessed, let's check it and it's correct. If you don't ask about it now, what are you waiting for?"
"Ah? This..." Qiu Batian collapsed to the ground, his face pale with fear and his whole body trembling.
"Go!" Sima Xin said to the officer again, "I'll kill him on the spot at the yamen gate to serve as a warning to others!"
"Yes!" Several officers grabbed Qiu Batian again and dragged him out like a dead dog.
"Sir...sir..." At this time, although Qiu Batian was desperate, he still understood one thing, that is, the official who was presiding over the trial was a military officer from Songzhou, not an official from the county.
So, he hurriedly struggled to say the words: "Little, little is wronged, wronged!"
"slow!"
It seemed that Sima Xin had been waiting for this sentence. When he heard Qiu Batian complaining about injustice, he immediately reached out to stop him and asked, "What did you say?"
"Sir, I was wronged! Oh..." Qiu Batian cried bitterly and lay on the ground and said, "The little one was beaten into a crime! I couldn't bear the crime, so I admitted it! Please... please understand, sir." !”
"Nonsense!" Sima Xin shouted, "How can such a serious crime be trivial? I think you are talking nonsense!"
"No, no, no, sir, sir, wuwu..." Qiu Batian cried, "I really didn't kidnap and taint any woman, nor did I kill any father and daughter to silence them. Really, that's all I said. It’s true! I was really wronged, wuwu…”
"oh?"
Suddenly, a glimmer of satisfaction flashed in Sima Xin's eyes, and he sat down steadily.
The moment Sima Xin sat down, the county magistrate Song Zhili had a premonition of something, and immediately shuddered, feeling that something was wrong...
…
