Since ancient times, in cases where the government received a report from the victim, the officials would resolve the case in the government office. Most people would not know the process. If it is a case with a small impact, the government will finish the trial, and no one else will know except the victim, the defendant, witnesses and other relevant persons; if it is a case with a large impact, the government will not post a notice until after the trial and the verdict. method to publish the cause, process, and trial results of the crime.
As for the trial of a case in public, it is definitely unprecedented in Guazhou.
At noon that day, the ancient city of Dunhuang was covered with mist and rain, as if a white curtain had been drawn up. Many people heard that Cao Cao Xiao Yu was going to publicly interrogate Soden, the head of the Suo family, in the center of the city. They all went to the center of the city to watch with great interest. The news spread from ten to ten, not only to the people in the city, but also to the business travelers from various countries who stopped here. I also hurried over to watch the fun.
Soden grew up in Yumen County, where Hu and Han people were mixed and the folk customs were fierce. He was a man of talent but no virtue, fierce and domineering, and his way of doing things was no different from that of the Hu people. He relied on the fact that he was Zhang Dinghuang's brother-in-law and the head of the Soo family. In the past, he had often bullied men, dominated women, and taken things by force. However, he had two big trees, He Ruohuai Lang and Zhang Dinghuang, to rely on. Therefore, no one dared to be like him. What happened to Wei Ergou sounded terrible. It's tragic, but the crimes Soden has committed in Guazhou over the years are far more than this one.
In the past, people did not dare to take action and officials did not correct him. Even now that Xiao Yu has come forward, ordinary people who have never left Dunhuang for generations and have never known anyone outside of them still think that Suo is a giant. I didn't believe that Xiao Yu really would punish Soden, but since it was a public trial, the people in the city responded to the official call and came to watch the excitement under the influence of the law and their curiosity.
Soden was arrested by soldiers who broke in while watching the singer perform a striptease at his home the night before. Suo's servants wanted to stop them, but the soldiers Xiao Yu brought were the best of the best. When the servants faced a group of vicious Sui army elites who wanted them to take action, they lost the courage to take action and could only watch. The head of the family was taken away.
Some people felt at a loss, some were scared out of their wits, and some were smart enough to notify Soden's relatives and friends and ask them to come forward for help.
Dunhuang is such a big place, and powerful people already have contacts with each other. What's more, this matter has a huge impact. Almost as soon as the news of the request for help was received, the heads and representatives of the eight major surnames in Guazhou and the six major families in Dunhuang met urgently. Discussing ways to rescue Soden.
Although everyone has had grudges and disputes before, when the two classes collide, everyone will instinctively jump out to defend them.
Defending Soden now is tantamount to safeguarding their interests.
What's more important is that they know that their family has a huge business and occupies most of Guazhou's resources, rights and voice. It is impossible for them to have no public grievances at all. If a child really commits some outrageous case behind the family's back, even if he He was suppressed by his family background, but the resentment could not be easily forgotten by the suffering owner, and could not be easily dissipated.
If a scandal becomes public knowledge, they will lose the support of the people. Once they lose their reputation and the hearts of the people, the government can bring out old cases to deal with them without any worries.
It is precisely because they are aware of the dangers and dangers of making it public; it is precisely because they know that the big families are not clean, so the eight major surnames in Guazhou and the six major families in Dunhuang, who have a sense of urgency, consider their own interests, so they make the group To keep warm, unite to surround Xiao Yu, hoping that Xiao Yu will not open the door to the public trial and give up the public trial that made Sox family infamous.
Unfortunately, they were barking up the wrong tree.
Xiao Yu, who they were besieging, not only had a big background and strong backing, but he was also a person with a strong position. He had been unable to do anything about the land distribution issue of the Long Guanlong noble group in the Hehuang area. How can an inch of land and a mere Guazhou County position make him change?
However, the practices of the eight major surnames in Guazhou and the six major families in Dunhuang have invisibly aroused the curiosity of more people. So much so that at noon today, the streets of Dunhuang City were deserted, and countless people and business travelers rushed to the trial site to watch the excitement. .
When Soden was escorted, the governor Wang Bian also arrived. He and the gloomy-looking Zhang Dinghuang sat down at the makeshift trial bench, while Xiao Yu, who was in charge of handling the case, took the lead.
"Quiet!" Xiao Yu patted the wood on the table to calm down the noisy voices. He looked at Soden solemnly and said coldly: "Souden, do you know your guilt?"
Soden was an old man with talent but no virtue. Naturally, he would not be stupid enough to admit his guilt. He asked loudly: "May I ask the envoy, if you don't kill people first and set fires second, what crime is there?"
Xiao Yu sneered in his heart, pointed at Wei Ergou, who was on separate sides with Soden, and asked him: "Then can you recognize the person opposite you?"
When Wei Ergou was in the Suo family, he was just a nobody, and it had been four years since the Wei family tragedy. How could Suoden remember and recognize it? He casually looked at Wei Ergou who was standing opposite him and hated him, shook his head disdainfully and said, "I am just joking. Although I have no official position, I am still the head of the Wangsuo family in Guazhou County. How could I know such a person?" Grass people?"
"Suo thief, you raped my wife four years ago and made her commit suicide in shame and anger! When I went to seek justice, you not only broke my hands and feet, but also instigated the dog officer Zhang Dinghuang to arrest and massacre my three clansmen, and you also called me a horse thief. Today, I, Wei Ergou, will kill you to avenge dozens of innocent relatives who died tragically!" After Wei Ergou heard this, he could no longer suppress the hatred in his heart. He rushed towards Soden angrily, but was seen The two soldiers holding him tightly controlled him.
Seeing this, Soden took a closer look at Wei Ergou. Although he felt familiar, he had done this kind of thing too many times before, so how could he know such a person? He raised his hand to Xiao Yu and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I don't know this person at all. Is it too childish for you to arrest me based on this person's lies without any evidence?"
"It's not a joke at all. Since I dare to arrest you, I won't do it without evidence." Speaking of which, Xiao Yu didn't expect Wei Ergou to have anything that could be used to punish Soden. Fortunately, he He was well prepared and there was no shortage of evidence, so he pointed to a pile of pamphlets on the table and said to Soden: "These are all the evidence collected by Liangzhou Criminal Cao. Since you can't remember it, I will help you." You reminisce. Come on, read it aloud to Soden."
"Here!" A prison officer came forward, picked up a booklet from the case table, unfolded it, and read loudly: "In the 19th year of the founding of the Emperor, the Yumen Shi family owned thousands of acres of fertile land in Daze Lake. Suoden was corrupt His fertile land was forcibly purchased at a low price, but the Shi family refused. Soden, through Zhang Dinghuang, who was the county magistrate at the time, detained twenty-seven of the Shi family members in the county government on charges of collaborating with horse thieves. Soon, twenty-seven of the Shi family members were arrested. He was murdered in the county jail. Later, Zhang Dinghuang transferred this thousand acres of fertile land to Soden's name. At that time, four jailors claimed that it was Soden's instigation."
"The Helan family of Dunhuang had a daughter, Helanchen, who was twenty-eight years old, dignified and beautiful, and had a hundred-year marriage contract with Li Wei of Dunhuang. Suoden was greedy for beauty, and in the spring of the 20th year after the founding of the emperor, he came to propose marriage, but the Helan family refused. In anger, he ordered his slaves to kidnap Helan and return him to his home. In order to protect his loyalty, Helan disfigured himself, so Soden ordered his slaves to rape and humiliate him to death!"
"In the summer of the 20th year of the founding of the Emperor, Wang Ren'an, a good official, saw that He Ruohuailang, Zhang Dinghuang and others were colluding with the Suo family and the Zhang family. They were evil in the countryside, bullied men and women, and deceived superiors and inferiors. He went to Beijing to complain in anger and went to Guazhou. At the turn of Ganzhou, he was chased by Suoden. Suoden had no official title. Not only did he command him to be an internal agent of the horse thieves, he also ordered his slaves to kill Wang Ren'an, picked up his head with a spear, and swaggered all the way back to Yumen. This evil act of the county government not only made the county government officials angry and dare not speak out, but was also admired by He Ruohuaikuo, who immediately became a powerful general under He Ruohuaikuo. After that, he led his slaves to disguise themselves as horse thieves and rob passing merchants and gain money. Fifty-fifty with He Ruohuai Gallery."
"In the summer of the 20th year of the founding of the Emperor, fifteen merchants from Changle County formed a caravan and transported a large amount of exquisite silk and porcelain to Yizhou for sale. On the way, they were robbed by Soden's masters and servants disguised as horse thieves. Soden was robbed in the hot summer Under the command, the fifteen merchants were wrapped tightly in felt blankets, tied tightly with ropes, and then exposed to the scorching sun. Soon they died of exhaustion. Soden took away the value of the goods and escaped. Since there were no wounds on the body of the deceased, Zhang Dinghuang, who was the county magistrate at the time, concluded that he died of heat stroke. However, the merchant Liu Dao was lucky enough to wake up after the Soden slaves untied the ropes and blankets. When he heard The horseshoes that came when the government officials came hid in the Populus euphratica forest, so they escaped."
"The autumn of the 20th year of the founding of the Emperor..."
"Winter of the 20th year of the founding of the Emperor..."
"The first year of Renshou..."
The official Xingcao read the pamphlets one by one with a clear voice. The first criminal evidence he read was the 20th year of the founding of the emperor, and this year was also the year when Zhang Dinghuang first became county magistrate.
From the 20th year since the founding of the emperor to the present, there have been more than 200 crimes jointly committed by Soden and Zhang Dinghuang, Sox and Zhang, of which 80% have been clearly recorded and witnessed by witnesses.
At the beginning, the people watching were still whispering and pointing, but as one case after another was made public, these chaotic voices gradually disappeared, invisible anger began to brew, and Soden and Zhang Dinghuang suddenly became The target of public criticism.
The bustling city center fell into an eerie silence.
Public resentment and anger were finally stirred up, and even the heavy dark clouds in the sky seemed to be broken by this wave of resentment, causing heavy rain.
In just a moment, the people watching were drenched, but no one left. They all wanted to see what would happen to these heartless thieves and dog officials?
After the official finished reading one by one, Xiao Yu ordered him to stand down. He looked at Soden and Zhang Dinghuang, who was twisted from his seat, and sneered at Zhang Dinghuang and asked: "Zhang Changshi, what I said before has been witnessed. , physical evidence, and the same is true for your crime of soliciting bribes with fake antiques. I can show you whatever you want now, what else do you have to say? "
Soden had already collapsed to the ground with fear; although Zhang Dinghuang was a little calmer, his face was pale and his heart was filled with despair. His body was shaking like chaff, his fat body was dripping with cold sweat, and his eyes were full of fear of the coming doomsday.
In this era where benevolence, justice and morality are highly valued, the most important thing for a family is not its overwhelming power or outstanding children, but its good reputation accumulated over many generations. The Zhang family and the Suo family have been married for generations. The reputation of the two families has been accumulated through the tireless management of generations of ancestors, and they have the reputation of Guazhou County today. However, in their generation, they were all lost in one day.
And Xiao Yu is now attacking the foundation of their two families, completely destroying their reputations with ease. No matter what happens to him and Soden, Zhang Dinghuang doesn't care, but what he worries about is his Zhang family.
Without the reputation and support of the people, how can the Zhang family still look down on all living beings from a high position? Why should we be brothers with other county leaders and why should we develop further?
Without the reputation and support of the people, the Zhang family is like a wild wolf that has lost its claws and fur. It can only wander alone in the snowy wilderness. It cannot fight the ferocious tigers and wolves, nor can it eat the weak sheep. Instead, it is eaten by the hungry and thirsty ones. Eat the same kind...
He believed that the evil deeds of the Zhang Suo family would fill every inch of land in every city in Guazhou in less than three days. The powerful men who had been brothers with them in the past would also cut ties with them and join the army of verbal and written criticism and condemnation. Come.
Thinking of this, Zhang Dinghuang couldn't help but look at Xiao Yu with hatred. He didn't know how Xiao Yu could master so much evidence of crime in just a few days; It's just a day or two. But how could Xiao Yu collect so many things in such a short period of time?
Little did he know that in order to build Liangzhou into a model state dominated by Han people, Yang Ji and Xiao Yu not only ordered Wang Bian to secretly work hard in advance and Xingcao officials to enter the country secretly, but Yang Ji also ordered people related to Liangzhou to enter the country secretly. The files were all brought from the capital; coupled with the fact that Liangzhou has been fighting against corruption, investigating land annexations, and sorting out old cases in recent years, a large number of files have appeared about officials and local powerful people oppressing, enslaving, and killing the people. Later, after the criminals classified the cases and put multiple cases together for repeated scrutiny, some people who had not appeared in a single case surfaced one after another.
Now, not only the eight major surnames in Guazhou and the six major families in Dunhuang, but also the strong foundations of all places in Liangzhou are all piled up in categories. Information about any person or family you want to find can be extracted at any time.
The previous anti-corruption campaign that swept across Liangzhou and ordered local tycoons to return illegally acquired land and homesteads was just a simple and crude way of governing officials, and it was just the first step in rectifying Liangzhou. If the tycoons with all dirty butts think that the law is not To blame the public and leave it at that would be too optimistic and too naive.
If the anti-corruption campaign against officialdom is about swatting tigers, then what Xiao Yu is doing now is about swatting flies, swatting mice, and cleaning up the mess. The local tyrants and local bullies in various states and counties will soon discover that the Soochow and Zhang clans in Guazhou are just the prelude to Yang Jilai's efforts to collect old debts and govern Liangzhou.
Zhang Dinghuang's thoughts came to him thousands of times, but the time was only a few breaths.
But within such a short period of time, the resentment in the hearts of the people was unbearable. Among the dead crowd, no one knew who shouted "Kill them!"
More and more people responded, and soon it gathered into a wave of voices.
"Kill them!"
"Kill them!"
"Kill them!"
Tens of thousands of onlookers roared angrily in the heavy rain, and the huge sound echoed through Dunhuang and shocked the world. At the same time, it also awakened Zhang Dinghuang, who was lost and despairing.
He turned his head and looked around at the crowd in the audience, trying to find familiar people in the crowd. Unfortunately, he was disappointed. Even if his eyes met the familiar people standing in the front row, they were avoiding his sight at the moment. , everyone either lowered their head or raised their head, or looked left and right, or pretended to wipe away the rain.
This scene made despair rise in Zhang Dinghuang's heart. The scene he was most worried about actually appeared. He looked at Xiao Yu with trembling teeth, and made his final struggle sternly: "I am the governor of Guazhou, you can't kill me."
"Blast the drum!" Xiao Yu stood up and ordered the soldiers on standby.
Dozens of soldiers on the stage beat the war drums around them "dong dong dong dong". For a moment, a murderous atmosphere rushed into the sky along with the sound of the war drums, and the voices of the people gradually became lowered.
He walked to the stage, raised his hand, and the roaring war drums suddenly stopped playing at the same time. He was so angry that he shouted loudly: "Zhang Dinghuang, the governor of Guazhou, used power for personal gain. He successively cooperated with the former governor of Guazhou, He Ruohuailang, his wife and brother Suoden, who ignored human lives and supported bandits. To bring disaster and rebel against Gangchang. The numerous crimes he committed will never be redeemed. However, the state has national laws and the military has military regulations. I do not have the power to kill Zhang Dinghuang, but the numerous blood debts he owes must be repaid, and the court will also give him The punishment is due. You can rest assured.”
After making a promise to the people, Xiao Yu announced the verdict against Suoden: "Souden, his children and slaves killed many people and committed Taotian's crimes. Now that the evidence is conclusive, Soden will be sentenced to death immediately." The Suo family is the direct participant and direct beneficiary of various crimes. From today onwards, they will all be demoted to the third class and be scattered and resettled in various places. In addition, all the Suo family's property will be confiscated."
"No!" After hearing this, Soden's eyes suddenly darkened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Although Xiao Yu has not wiped out the Zhang family, once all his property is confiscated, he will become a fourth-class person similar to a barbarian. , once they are separated and separated, how will his family, young and old, maintain their livelihood in the future? Why continue to reproduce?
He has now foreseen the tragic fate of the Suo clan.
Xiao Yu ignored Soden who was gagged and continued: "Zhang Dinghuang is a prisoner. Although I can't kill him, there are some things that I can do now."
The whole place fell silent and listened silently.
"Zhang Dinghuang's family is temporarily imprisoned in Dunhuang, and will be made public after the court makes a decision. However, his clan members are also direct participants and direct beneficiaries of various crimes, and the Suo family is no different. From today on, they will all be demoted. They will be classified as third-class people and scattered and resettled in various places. In addition, all property will be confiscated."
After the announcement, Xiao Yu finally reminded: "The Liangzhou Prefectural Mufu has already clearly stipulated that all property, land, land deeds, shops, and slaves of criminals will be confiscated. Half of the first three will be used for confiscation and half will be used to repay the owner. As for the slaves, Then all good people were released, registered as citizens, and resettled in various counties and townships. The Zhang Suo family was no exception. Anyone who was persecuted by them or their family members could go to the governor's office to receive compensation with certificates, even if If there is no proof, you can also make a verbal statement. As long as there is evidence and verification, everything will be returned one by one.”
Following his order, the axeman stepped forward and dragged Soden to the front of the stage. He raised the knife and dropped it, and a big head rolled to the ground.
Looking at the cheering audience, Xiao Yu and Wang Bian glanced at each other, revealing meaningful smiles.
After this incident, it was difficult for the powerful people and the people of Guazhou to unite and reject Yang Ji's various decrees. The first step of intensive cultivation of Guazhou was accomplished.
Among the cheering crowd, there were many pale-faced powerful and powerful representatives. They wanted to support or encourage the people to cause trouble, but at this moment, looking at the tens of thousands of ecstatic people around them, they disappeared. The death of Soden and the fate of Suo and Zhang made them seem to see the future for themselves and their clan.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Return to the Governor's Mansion!
"Xiao Xingcao, Suo Clan has been a county leader for hundreds of years. The fertile land and land deeds they have acquired over the years are shocking. If they just sell 10% of it, it is enough to support ten thousand soldiers for a year. If The wealth in the sealed main house of the Suo family has been counted one by one. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is as rich as the state." Wang Bian handed a thick account book to Xiao Yu and said very stingily: " We in Liangzhou are unable to support ourselves now. Seeing half of such a huge amount of wealth being given away at once, I feel heartbroken just thinking about it. Can we only repay 25% to the people? The other 25% should be used to support the army and the people? "
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and said: "I feel bad too. I also want to use 30% of the 50% to buy residents! But Zhou Mu, he won't allow it!"
"What can Zhou Mu say?" Wang Bian asked curiously.
"He said that what the imperial court and local officials have to do is to win over the people's hearts and minds controlled by the aristocratic families. As long as the people's hearts and minds are in hand, some decrees that benefit the country and the people can be smoothly implemented, even if the aristocratic families and local powerful people use the means of rebellion to If you use other methods to oppose, the people will not follow suit. How to win over the people? In short, the government must first be honest. As long as the people have faith in the government, everything else will be easy." Xiao Yu sighed, Then he said: "Prince Wang, we will complete the inventory of Zhang Suo's second family's property as soon as possible and make the detailed data public. There must be no concealment. The distribution will be handled by the government, and the Xing Cao will be responsible for supervision. If Wang Tongxuan The Imperial Cao officials in charge of Cao discovered that someone was engaging in corruption and fraud and profited from it, so they killed him and enslaved his family!"
Although Wang Bian would not be greedy for the money, after hearing some words, he could not help but feel a chill in his heart. He knew that this was also the purpose of Yang Ji's establishment of Yucao. If anyone dared to reach out, Yang Ji would definitely do what he said. At that moment, he said continuously: "Then let's take stock as soon as possible."
"Okay!" Xiao Yu nodded. Compared with wealth, he cared more about the shameful letters in Zhang and Suo's house. He hoped that these things that might be related to other powerful people had not been destroyed.
