County Magistrate Li Yi frowned.
Gu Juren, did you steal my line?
"What evidence do you have?"
Li Yi spoke.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Li Yi: "Please ask the county magistrate to send someone to drag the wooden boat in the pond to the hall."
Li Yi looked at Gu Zhengchen doubtfully, then turned his attention to Wang Fugui, who seemed to be calm, and arranged for Zaoli to tug the boat.
It's a small wooden boat, not difficult to get.
When the wooden boat was placed in the hall, Wang Fugui looked at the wooden boat and saw that there was nothing wrong with it. He felt relieved and said, "Gu Juren, what kind of evidence is this?"
Gu Zhengchen pointed to the wooden boat and said seriously: "I asked someone. This boat belongs to the Wang family. Outsiders are afraid of the Wang family and dare not use it without permission. In the spring of the second year of Hongwu, the Wang family spent money to buy water from Liu Yuan's house. After that, I bought a batch of fish fry, ducks and geese and put them in the pond. Are these true? "
“Is it wrong to buy a pond and raise some fish?”
Wang Fugui asked back.
Gu Zhengchen shook his head and said with a cold look: "Raising fish, I'm afraid, can't cover up the smell of rotting corpses in the water. Raising ducks and geese is the real thing!"
Wang Fugui snorted: "That's nonsense."
Li Yi patted the gauntlet: "Gu Juren, I'm afraid this cannot be used as evidence."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly and pointed to the boat in the hall: "Your Excellency, does the blood stain on this boat count as evidence?"
"Blood?"
Li Yi stood up and took a look. Although the boat was a little dirty, it could be seen that there was no blood.
The county prime minister stepped forward to take a closer look and shook his head at Li Yi.
"Where's the blood?"
Li Yi's face darkened.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Wang Fugui, bent down, picked up the ship's cable, gritted his teeth and said, "This cable hasn't been replaced in a few years. If it wasn't thicker, it would have broken long ago. I don't know if Mr. Wang noticed it." , there is brown and black everywhere in this cable, but this is a white and brown hemp rope, where did the brown and black come from? When I was cleaning the blood stains on the ship at night, I forgot to wash the cable together."
"Wu Zuo!"
Li Yi summoned him quickly.
Wu Zuo stepped forward, took the hemp rope, looked at it carefully, and replied to Li Yi: "It is indeed blood. As for whether it is human blood or other blood, I cannot tell."
Wang Fugui said quickly: "Maybe it was splashed on when killing ducks and geese. Besides, the Wang family doesn't keep an eye on the wooden boat every day. Someone has used it, so what does it have to do with us? This can't prove that I killed Gu Lan."
Li Yi shouted majestically: "Although this evidence is not enough to prove that you killed Gu Yan, it is consistent with the confessions of Deng Quan and Huang Lin, and it is enough to prove that this boat was used to sink the corpse!"
Wang Fugui firmly refused to admit it: "It's just a false accusation. Don't you officials just want to take advantage of the big family and get some benefits? In this case, why not just say how much money you want, why bother to come here."
The county magistrate, Jin Ducha, shouted sharply: "How outrageous!"
Wang Fugui didn't care: "If the county magistrate has no other evidence, just two words will not be enough to convict me."
Li Yi glanced at Wang Fugui. This guy made it clear that he planned to resist to the end and refused to admit it.
Gu Zhengchen, you see, right? You may face more difficult situations in the future. How will you deal with it when there is no evidence?
This time, I'll teach you.
In the future, when you become a court official, you have to make decisions for the people!
The gavel sounded again.
Li Yi said in a deep voice: "Take Wang Fugui under custody for the time being, and pass on Wang Zhi, the steward of the Wang family, and servants Wang Er and Wang Liu."
A look of panic appeared on Wang Fugui's face: "The county magistrate..."
"Take it down!"
Li Yi ordered.
Soon afterwards, Wang Zhi, the steward of the Wang family, and Wang Er and Wang Liu, the servants, were taken to the court.
Li Yi said solemnly: "You must know that Gu Yan was killed and his body was buried in the pond, right?"
Wang Zhi, Wang Er and Wang Liu were uneasy and even said they didn't know anything about it.
Li Yi looked at Sun Ang, the chief registrar: "Tell them the laws of the Ming Dynasty!"
Sun Ang handed the pen to the scribe beside him, removed the paper on the desk, and said solemnly: "The "Laws and Orders: Human Life" clearly stipulates that anyone who murders people or creates intentions shall be beheaded. Those who thereby add merit shall be hanged. No Those who add merit, a hundred sticks, and a run of three thousand miles. Before you speak, you must think clearly whether you helped Wang Fugui kill people that night. If you did, you will be hanged according to the law. If you did not, a hundred and a run of three thousand miles. Thousands of miles!”
Wang Zhi, Wang Er, and Wang Liu were sweating coldly. They turned around to look for Wang Fugui, but they didn't see them.
Li Yi snapped and shouted: "Huang Lin, the official, and Deng Quan, a commoner, all saw the murder scene that day, and also saw who helped Wang Fugui bury the body, and who found the stones! If we don't recruit them from the real thing now, wait. Is it possible to use punishment? Tell me, did you help Wang Fugui kill people and dump their bodies?"
Wang Liu was so intimidated that he lost his mind and opened his mouth to confess: "Yes, Mr. Wang did it alone. I was only responsible for moving the rocks. It had nothing to do with me. Please spare my life, Lord County Master."
As soon as this statement came out, the truth came out.
Wang Liu didn't want to die. A hundred sticks and a flow of three thousand miles were better than being hanged.
There was one person who confessed, and the other two people did not dare to hide it anymore. Dian Shi knew each other. He was also present at the beginning, and he confessed. What are we waiting for? Wang Fugui was the one who did it anyway, and his death is his own.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the county magistrate Li Yi and was secretly shocked.
Is this what the county magistrate does?
Heart-attacking and majestic at the same time!
The three people were able to explain, but the ambiguous words made the three people think that the matter was finalized and the evidence was conclusive.
After the three people explain clearly, they will then sign.
After Li Yi saw it, he asked: "When Gu Yan was killed, did he have any property with him?"
Wang Zhi replied: "Gu Yan only had three hundred coins with him. We didn't take the money, but the master took it away. Afterwards, the master gave us twenty taels each to make us forget about it..."
Li Yi nodded slightly and then called Wang Fugui: "Secretary, please bring the three people's testimonies for Mr. Wang to see clearly."
Seeing that he had been betrayed, Wang Fugui sat slumped in silence.
According to Ming law, even if there is no evidence, if there are enough witnesses and the witnesses' testimonies are consistent and mutually corroborating, it will be enough to convict.
What's more, Wang Zhi and others also confessed that the stone Wang Fugui used when killing was at the bottom of the pond, and that he used too much force when killing, and the stone cut his palm, as evidenced by the scars on his palm.
As soon as he came out of court, he acted resolutely, crisply and decisively, allowing Gu Zhengchen to truly see the domineering power of an official.
This is power!
I also want to sit there and hold the Great Seal.
Once you say something, everyone will follow!
Gu Zhengchen longed to enter the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty and to gain power.
The Hongwu Dynasty was like the sea, with countless turbulent waves.
Power is like a boat, it carries people to life and death.
Can sink to the bottom of the sea.
Can cross to the other side.
Gu Zhengchen wanted to see the great man who founded the Ming Dynasty in the 276th year of Zuo, and see his imperial power and plans for the world!
Li Yi concluded the case and sentenced Wang Fugui to death. Wang Zhi and others had a hundred sticks and traveled three thousand miles. They arranged for the chief bookkeeper to write all the documents and send them to the capital.
The authority of the magistrate of Ming Dynasty only extended to flogging and cane punishment.
The crime of being a disciple or exile needs to be reported to the government level for sentencing.
As for the death penalty, it needs to be sent to the capital, where the judicial department will decide. After reconsideration, it will be handed over to the emperor for a verdict, and then sent to the local area for execution.
After the Ming Dynasty magistrate could not judge the case, he immediately went out to behead him.
The power to impose the death penalty rests only with the imperial court.
To be more specific, the life and death of people in the world are all in Lao Zhu’s writings!
