At the Luoyang government office, the governor and Duke of Luan, Murong Yanchao, went to court to interrogate the case. The interrogation was naturally about the murder of Chang Kan by Han Qingxiong in Mudanfang yesterday. After hearing the news, there were many people watching, whether they were high-ranking officials or nobles or ordinary people. I want to see how Uncle Murong will judge this matter.
As the capital of Xijing, it governs the entire Heluo area, and there are many affairs on weekdays. In terms of punishment, Murong Yanchao rarely intervenes, and the magistrate of the government office is basically responsible.
However, this time, the judge was not sure about the murder involving noble disciples, so he reported it to Murong Yanchao. For Murong Yanchao, this matter was not an embarrassment, but it was also troublesome.
Uncle Murong actually had some talent in decriminalizing and breaking prison cases. In the past, whether he was serving in the local Jiedu, Kaifeng Mansion or the Ministry of Punishment, he had a record of solving cases.
Let alone praying for the people, we always act in accordance with the law, and the cases can always be clarified. Therefore, this case is really not a challenge to Murong Yanchao. The matter is clear and the investigation and evidence collection are simple. The most troublesome thing is how to impose the penalty.
With the support of national law and his own identity, Emperor Murong was not afraid of offending others, but whether he was afraid or not, and whether he should do it or not, were two different concepts. Therefore, last night, Murong Yanchao submitted a memorial to Emperor Liu and asked Emperor Liu for instructions on this matter.
What he got was naturally not Emperor Liu's gentle words. The response from Emperor Liu was simple and direct. A small murder case had to disturb Sheng Gong, and he asked Murong Yanchao. He had been an official for many years and had handled many cases. How to judge the case? Do you still need someone else to teach you?
Emperor Liu's response made Emperor Murong feel a little depressed. Of course, he could also realize that the emperor was not targeting him. However, the ball was kicked back to Murong Yanchao's side.
Under such circumstances, Murong Yanchao was very disgusted with those involved in the incident, whether it was the murderer Han Qingxiong or the murdered Chang Kan.
If these high-ranking children did something bad, even if it was fighting or bullying good people, he would do it as he was told and he would never be lenient in dealing with them, but they ended up causing a loss of life.
According to the current laws of the Han Dynasty, human life is also the most basic bottom line. As long as human lives are involved in civil conflicts, it is an upgrade and change in nature, and it will be difficult to resolve the serious matter.
Over the years, there have not been many private cases involving human lives. However, once it escalates to such a vicious outcome, the people involved will basically not be able to escape death. There are basically no exceptions.
Emperor Murong, who is over sixty years old, has now completely faded into a skinny little old man. However, set off by an official hat inlaid with jade and a purple court dress, he is still full of majesty, which no one dares to look down upon.
The melon-eating crowd outside the courtroom was strictly kept outside. After a few cursory glances, I could see some relatively familiar faces. Apart from the people who were just watching the excitement, the rest were mostly people related to the Han and Chang families. There was a clear distinction between the two families. There were more Chang family members, men, women, old and young, all of whom seemed to be here. They were all dressed in mourning clothes, looking indignant. They stared silently at the court without making a sound, but they brought substantial pressure.
Murong Yanchao didn't pay much attention to the "miscellaneous people" outside the hall. Of course, he felt a little awkward in his heart. This attitude made him want to bend the law for personal gain. Last night, the Chang family asked to go to the Yamen, hoping to take back Chang Kan's body, but Murong Yanchao refused because the case had not been settled.
This time in court, Murong Yanchao did not peel off the details, conduct detailed cross-examination, or even battle wits with the suspect as he did in past cases. He just stood in front of the court, asked and reported what happened in a procedural way, and then watched the two lawyers argue...
So, the scene in the hall was like this. Two rows of government officials were holding killing sticks. Han Qingxiong, dressed in ocher clothes, was shackled and kneeling there in despair. Chang Kan's father, Chang De, dressed in plain clothes, also knelt honestly as the plaintiff, but the sadness of losing his son was only on the surface, which was unbearable.
The two litigants each cited the law, relied on the facts, detailed the process, and argued fiercely. Both of them were famous litigators in Tokyo. When the imperial court moved westward to Luoyang, they naturally followed them to Xijing to seek development.
This lawsuit is a rare opportunity for both people, not only because they have connections with powerful people, but also an opportunity to demonstrate their legal abilities, expand their business, and penetrate deeply into the upper class society.
In these years, the Han Dynasty has shown a state of comprehensive development, and all aspects of society have made progress, including the profession of litigants.
With the unification of the world and the convergence of the north and the south, the commodity economy of the Han Dynasty has completely entered the fast lane, and transactions between private businessmen and people have become increasingly frequent. When interests are involved, contradictions and conflicts are often easy to occur, and litigation is often the final solution to disputes. It is also the most important way.
The market is growing, and the corresponding professions are also experiencing great development. The legal provisions of the Han Dynasty had been systematically simplified and organized to facilitate understanding and implementation. Later, they were deleted, adjusted, and added. Today, all laws and regulations are very complete.
And perfection also represents complexity. For the current Han people, it can be said that they are basically legally illiterate and only have some simple values. In addition to having a basic understanding of rebellion, murder, theft, robbery, fraud, and adultery, they have no understanding of other aspects. Vague or even ignorant.
Even for officials of the Han Dynasty, "Xingtong" is compulsory, but there are not many officials who can study it in depth and are familiar with Han laws. Therefore, whether it is a government trial or a civil lawsuit, it requires the assistance of a certain number of talents who focus on legal research. In the government, they are criminals, supervisors, and pen officials, and in the private sector, they are litigators.
The profession of litigators has existed since ancient times, but after thousands of years of development, it has never formed a large scale, until today's Han Dynasty experienced a blowout. Of course, this is also the comprehensive development of society, economy, and politics, which provides the soil for its growth. Moreover, there was Emperor Liu’s affirmation and guidance.
The Han Dynasty's code of law has been established for many years, and its authority has continued to expand and its credibility has become stronger and stronger. However, how to use the code does not just rely on officials. Litigators are a good supplement.
At present, the reputation of litigants among the people is not good, and ordinary people generally cannot use them, and their main service targets are also some wealthy and middle-class people. In the process of its development, it is inevitable to avoid collusion and bribery, secretly exchanging documents, bullying and intimidation, etc., but its positive significance cannot be concealed.
However, people often only see the bad deeds and ignore their positive significance. Especially now that the overall political environment in Han Dynasty is clear and clear, the outbreak of the lawyer industry is conducive to social development. This also provides some unsuccessful literati with a new direction to develop their employment. After all, it is becoming increasingly difficult to become an official in the Han Dynasty. The first threshold is to continue to graduate from high school.
In the eyes of many people, this is a group of people with low morals and ostentation, colluding with profiteers, and acting like dogs, which completely corrupts the social atmosphere.
However, even if the reputation is not very good, the number of people involved in it is gradually increasing. First, the court has a clear attitude and is tolerant and supportive. Second, it is fame and fortune. Of course, there are also clear-minded people among them who respect the law, safeguard rights and plead for the people.
In the past, litigants were usually able to participate in civil cases, which involved entangled interests and, more seriously, hurt people.
As long as human lives are involved, they basically have no right to speak. In this regard, officials from all over the country attach great importance to the investigation, trial and punishment, and it is not the turn of litigants and the like to initiate litigation.
However, this time, the previous established rules were clearly broken. The Han family filed a lawsuit to request exoneration and reduced sentence, and the Chang family also filed a "big petition" to sentence Han Qingxiong to death. Murong Yan was overjoyed and acquiesced, and watched the heated debate between the two parties with great interest.
The outcome of this lawsuit has yet to be determined, but the ceiling of the profession of litigators may be raised a lot through this lawsuit.
From Murong Yanchao's point of view, he looked down on these litigants. When the government decides cases, how can these two scholars with no position or power be allowed to show off their words and make sophistry in the hall? If things go on like this, the authority of government officials will be lost. Where?
In fact, Emperor Liu supported the sudden rise of litigants in order to curb the mentality of officials like Emperor Murong.
When it comes to the common people, the power to interpret the law cannot be completely in the hands of officials. This is probably the purest original intention of Emperor Liu. However, if the litigation profession wants to continue to develop and be standardized, it will also need to go through some twists and turns.
In court, regarding the case of Han Qingxiong's murder of Chang Kan, the two parties conducted a comprehensive analysis and debate on the relevant "Penal Regulations" regulations. The defendant, as for the defendant, restored the incident from beginning to end and put forward several circumstances as a basis for reducing the sentence and punishment, such as Chang Kan's provocation, personal insult, contempt for ancestors, drunkenness and paralysis, etc.
The intention proved that Han Qingxiong did not intend to kill, but got angry and drew his sword to avenge his shame. In Dahan, many moral aspects will affect the punishment. This is also an indisputable fact. In many cases, there will be extenuating circumstances, a thought, and other factors that will affect the outcome of the sentence.
As for the Chang family's litigants, no matter how you quibble, they focused on one point: Han Qingxiong committed murder, and Chang Kan was killed in public. To stick to this point is to crucify Han Qingxiong.
After all, Chang Kan was just using his words, and was neither treasonous nor treacherous, let alone treacherous. Even if it insults the Han family, it is still excessive and inappropriate. Even if Han Qingxiong was really angry for a moment, he could draw his sword and hurt people and kill people, but if it caused bad consequences, he would have to pay the price for his actions.
Chinese law, after all, does not kill the mind. But it is an indisputable fact that Han Qingxiong committed murder, and the evidence of the crime is conclusive.
The two sides argued for a long time, intending to influence Murong Yanchao's judgment. There is no jury in court. Even if there are judges, chief clerks, subordinates and other assistants, the final power of sentencing still lies in the hands of Emperor Murong.
After enjoying a wonderful debate, Emperor Murong, who was physically, mentally tired, and mentally bored, finally decided to end the trial.
The audience was silent as soon as the scaffolding was struck. After a few clichés, Murong Yanchao solemnly announced the result of the penalty under the witness of everyone.
As soon as the results came out, the distraught Han Qingxiong completely lost his energy.
