Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 724 Trial
"A gentry like the Luo family can control Sanliang City for several generations. Why can't we be the local emperor here?" Shi Zhiqi said, "Our people will only do better than these traditional local tyrants and evil gentry!"

Of course, natives who have been trained in modern administrative skills will certainly do better than the egocentric gentry.However, the ancient society was a typical "acquaintance society", and the label of outsiders was not easy to be removed.Some families may have reproduced in the local area for two or three generations, and they are still outsiders in the eyes of the local people.

Immigrant households are excluded from the local social network, and it is difficult for them to be trusted by the locals.Of course talking doesn't help.Because of the small number of people, the interests are often bullied and encroached upon.

If it is in a metropolis like Guangzhou, the situation is even better.In a semi-closed rural society, it is very difficult for outsiders to peacefully control local power.

The Chinese dialect of the 21st century still has a derogatory meaning for the word "outsider", let alone the 17th century when the social environment was much closed and the population was almost non-mobile.

Without the support of big local families, how to settle down his own people and gain enough prestige is a question that Wen Desi has been thinking about.

Now the powerful gentry who resisted them in the local area have been wiped out, most of them have been killed, and the rest are either hanging on the gallows or about to be hanged on the gallows.According to the established operational guidelines, these people will be "purged"-a euphemism for "execution" in the document,

Those who escaped death by chance—including their clansmen, distant relatives, servants... These people have received some favors from them, and they also belong to vested interests, so they will all be moved to Lingao to wait for "resettlement".The Civil Affairs People's Committee will dismantle these populations and relocate them to the entire Hainan Island area.

After these measures ended, the "powerful class" in Sanliang City—— was completely wiped out.Newcomers, as long as they have sufficient funds and strong ability to handle affairs, can easily establish authority locally.

……

He fell asleep half leaning on the chair while thinking about it, and when he woke up, it was completely bright.Wen Desi thought that today is to hold a town meeting.Wen Desi quickly sat up and asked the orderly to come in and pour water for him to wash.

Of course, there is no need for him to take part in the matter of holding a general meeting. The veterans of the People's Committee of Civil Affairs will come forward.Wen Desi sat in the temporary office, reading various reports and requests for instructions that quickly accumulated on the desktop.

The captured countrymen, servants and servants of the gentry need to be screened. The general principle is to punish those who have public anger, and generally release them on the spot.However, who has public anger and who just has personal enmity is an entangled matter. Since early this morning, there have been more and more sneaky "complaints", "complaints" and anonymous letters to the headquarters.The civil affairs team specially brought a group of indigenous personnel to deal with such matters.

The town meeting at the threshing floor went well.Wen Desi thinks this is not surprising, how could the meeting under the bayonet not go well, let alone the hundred and ten people who have been hanged from yesterday to today.At the meeting, several liaison officers were elected to be responsible for maintaining the town's law and order, dealing with the aftermath, and approving the collection of "reasonable burdens".Among them are shopkeeper Chen, the owner of the inn, and Li Cunfa, a local owner of a small straw mat shop.The last one is the presiding monk of the only local monastery.Dao Liao presided over a temple for descendants, and there were not many temple products. Fortunately, there was only this temple in this town, and Dao Liao took over all business related to the immaterial world.The income is almost enough for their mentors and apprentices to live.

These three individuals work under the direct leadership of the civil affairs team.Wen Desi ordered to allocate 500 taels of silver and hundreds of shi of rice to the civil affairs team as expenses.At the same time, some original public welfare organizations in the town will be restored first.The fire water will reopen the door, and the watchmen who are hiding will start to watch at night again.People whose homes and property were burned during the fighting also received relief meters.Subsequently, the civil affairs team is also preparing to issue relief money.

"It really surprised me." Ji Xin, the representative of the arbitration tribunal who was in charge of patrolling and handling the legal affairs of the contingent, saw that the temporary team was already in operation.Shopkeeper Chen is in charge of public security, while Li Cunyou is in charge of the economy and reasonable burdens.It is said that the monk manages the charitable affairs of collecting corpses and helping the poor.Soon everything will be in order. "Before I came to Guangdong, I was afraid that the aborigines would be afraid of retaliation from the government and would not come forward in such a public recruitment of liaison officers."

After the war, the practice of local powerful people to maintain local affairs is not considered "surrender to the enemy" in traditional Chinese society.There is even a good review of 'maintaining the hometown'.Most of these people are local gentlemen, and they are the grassroots ruling collaborators that the government originally relied on. Of course, when they make a comeback afterwards, they will not be punished for their behavior.Among them, of course, there are honest people who sincerely serve the people and are eager for justice, and there are also despicable people who try to take advantage of it and fish for the people. The situation is very complicated.

At this moment, the elders have no choice - most of the indigenous people have not established basic trust in them, so they have to appoint these people who take the initiative to do things.As for the quality of these people, it can only be observed slowly in practice.

With the local liaison officer, the aftermath work of the civil affairs team was carried out quickly.Civilian groups began to collect and bury bodies, to relieve the poor, to hunt down "enemies" who slipped through the net, to restore buildings damaged by artillery fire: private and public.Especially the former - the Senate still agrees to a certain extent with the concept of the inviolability of private property.Of course, under the premise of not hindering the interests of the Senate and the Empire.

Liu Deshan's house was among the first to be included in the repair list because it was severely damaged.A group of sailors came to Liu's residence carrying tools and pushing a cart full of building materials.Liu Deshan had just attended the general meeting on the threshing floor in the morning. Although he knew that his life and property were not in danger for the time being, he still had doubts about the "reasonable burden" in the future.This sum of money will be apportioned when the time comes, and I am afraid it will be a considerable sum.occasion

At the moment of suspicion, this group of people suddenly appeared in front of his house, making Liu Deshan think that the gangsters were coming to speculate.These tools were probably prepared to dig up the floor tiles and tear down the walls to find the "secret stash", and they were too scared to move for a while.

"Master, we meet again." The leader of the team was an Australian who came to his house yesterday. He smiled and swung the ax in his hand, scaring Liu Deshan so much that he almost peed his pants, "We keep our word and help you The house is being repaired."

"This... um... ah..." Before Liu Deshan could react, the sailors rushed into the yard. Someone immediately tore down the threshold that Liu Deshan's guys had hastily ordered yesterday, and put the purple electricity filled with bricks, tiles, and lime on it. The wheelbarrows were changed and pushed in. Some people quickly set up ladders and climbed up to the roof, and some directly asked a buddy to borrow a water bucket to prepare lime to make mud.One by one, they started to repair the house with all their hands and feet.

Liu Deshan was stunned--in his mind, all the soldiers were idle, lazy ruffian bachelors, out-and-out "official bandits". It is unheard of for the army to come to compensate for the losses of the common people, and to help repair the house in person.

"Unexpectedly, there are such people in this world!" Liu Deshan praised repeatedly.Quickly ask someone to boil water to make tea immediately.

"Master, there is no more old tea..." the man said, "I ran out of old tea yesterday."

"Asshole! Make good tea!"

While Liu Deshan was making tea, shopkeeper Chen brought a group of people to the office cursing.The office that the corporal mentioned was the original Tuanlian office.It was originally a temple, but after it was abandoned, it was repaired and made into a public office.There are many houses inside, and the hall is spacious, which is very suitable for office.The detachment set up an office here after breaking down the village on October 10.

A group of people were sent here. There is a large yard next to the office, which is now used as a temporary detention center.The wing rooms were full of people, each with a sad face.

The three of them were escorted to a yard alone.This was originally the lobby of the office.It is also the place where the committee members of the Tuanlian Office set up private courts and "trial cases".Any "suspicious person" that Xiangyong obtained in Sanliang City and its surrounding areas, or any unlucky person who offended the gentlemen, would be taken here to be tortured.In addition to the lack of plaques and guards of honor on the yamen court, there are all public cases and instruments of torture.

It is now temporarily used as a temporary military court to hear various cases.Ji Xin, the representative of the arbitration tribunal, has been hearing various cases since the morning—most of the cases are filed by local people, and the targets are mainly wealthy and powerful households in the past.Some came to accuse them of killing people, some of them robbed women, and some of them forcibly property... There are all kinds of things, and they are all here.Some came to deliver pleadings in person to appeal for grievances, and some secretly sent anonymous posts.These materials have now filled a table at the back of the courtroom.

In fact, some cases are no longer necessary to be tried, because the parties were already dead when they broke down the stronghold or were executed by hanging that night.The complaints against Luo Tianqiu are much more special, and the crimes are even more "full of five poisons".Ji Xin thought that this person was really a typical "bully landlord".

Even though there was no need for a trial, Ji Xin still asked the indigenous staff to sort out all the materials, especially to collect enough witness testimony-this is the promotional material in the future!
The defendants were still alive, and they were arrested one by one according to the procedure for arraignment.Ji Xin was very uncomfortable with this mode of trial, which had no legal basis and no evidence to be presented in court, and only relied on the two parties to argue with each other.Because he has to rely on his common sense, knowledge, ideas and even intuition to make judgments.

Ji Xin doesn't believe in the theory that "poor people are inherently good and rich people are bad".He knew very well that when the new ruler came, many people would use this to plunder other people's property to change their own destiny.False accusations and exaggerated things must be common at this time.

So he paid special attention to the fairness of the trial.The theory he often expounds is: "If a person is guilty, it does not mean that all the crimes can be pinned on his head." On "out of place.

"Chen's liaison officer has brought some Xiangyong teachers into custody." Someone reported, "These people don't admit it."

"Oh." Ji Xin nodded, "Of course people don't recognize it." He was very dissatisfied with the Senate's decision to execute all the teachers of the village brave, thinking that there was suspicion of killing innocent people indiscriminately.But this is a matter of high-level decisions, and he cannot object.

"Bring it here and ask." He said as he removed the completed case files from the table.Open a new copy.

Qingxia and the three were brought to court.The scale of the scene here is no less than that of a county government office, but there are no people in the hall, let alone vicious government servants, only three or four people who look like gangsters.In the center was a strong man six and a half feet tall, with a square face, thick eyebrows, large earlobes, and fair skin.It looks very official.Probably the senior official among the thieves.

Qingxia hurriedly pulled Jiang Suo to kneel down.

"Minister Chunxia, ​​meet the master---"

"You don't need to kneel and kowtow, stand up and talk." The strong man Kun Thief said, he looked pleasant, not as fierce and authoritative as ordinary officials.Qingxia felt a little relieved.

"Thank you sir."

"You're welcome." The Australian actually smiled, "What's your name? Where are you from? What do you do for a living?"

Qingxia talked one by one, she only said that she and her group were running horses and selling solutions, and dared not say that they had once been teachers of village courage.He only said that he was framed because Boss Chen tried to seize their horse property.

"Master Mingjian! We are entertainers who sell solutions, we are home everywhere, and we are outsiders, how can we be the teachers of village courage here?" Qingxia knew that the only way to survive was to insist that nothing happened.

Ji Xin nodded and looked at the three people.The woman who spoke in the middle was in her twenties. She was tall, well-proportioned, and had big feet. She had obviously trained in martial arts.A young man next to him was sixteen or seventeen years old, short and strong; there was a woman in her early thirties, with a bit of beauty, her face was pale and she couldn't even stand still, she seemed to be sick.

It is unbelievable for these three people to say that they are the teachers of Xiangyong.

"Boss!" Boss Chen immediately jumped out, "These three people have indeed been teachers of village courage, and have fought with the chiefs. If you don't believe me, you can ask the captured Xiangyong, there must be someone who knows them !" He continued pointing at Qingxia, "This woman has an affair with Luo Tianqiu!"

Qingxia's face was flushed red, and she was extremely angry.As a female busker, his chastity has always been the subject of suspicion and discussion, so Qingxia takes this very seriously and cannot allow others to misunderstand it.His virginity, which is as guarded as jade, was slandered for no reason, and he was about to rush up and grab shopkeeper Chen at that time.It was only when he saw the glaring bayonet of the gangster that he restrained his anger.He turned around and knelt down and kowtowed.

"The daughter of the people is indeed a virgin, and has never had anything to do with Master Luo! This Boss Chen is full of blood! Please check clearly!"

Seeing this woman's expression so intense, Ji Xin knew she was telling the truth.He glanced at shopkeeper Chen with a smug expression on his face.Although jurisprudence does not talk about personal impressions, the performance of these two people inevitably left Ji Xin with likes and dislikes.

Regardless of whether these three are Mr. Xiangyong or not, this shopkeeper Chen obviously has ulterior motives.It is also possible that the matter of wanting to take the opportunity to blackmail the horses is true.

"Qingxia! Whether you are a virgin or not has nothing to do with this case." The thief who was sitting behind the desk was probably very dissatisfied with the inexplicable twist to the issue of "virginity". He said to Qingxia, "Get up, Boss Chen." It is said that you have been teachers of village courage and fought in battle, is there such a thing?"

"Reporting to the master, there is absolutely no such thing!" Qingxia categorically denied, "We are racing horses and selling solutions, and we are all kung fu, how can we train Xiangyong?"

Boss Chen saw that Qingxia was very resolute when she opened her mouth. He was afraid that the Australians would believe her, so he quickly added: "Boss, they are all really skilled. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to ask about it in this town This woman's archery skills are excellent, and she can shoot money from a hundred steps away. Luo Tianqiu specially asked her to teach bows and arrows to the village warriors..." He pointed at Jiang Niang again, "This woman can throw knives, and she has a knife on her leg. You got the red wound yesterday! If you didn’t help Xiangyong fight in the war, where did you get the red wound?”

This is an undeniable flaw.Qingxia didn't know how to defend herself for a while.

"Is what shopkeeper Chen said true?"

"Reporting to my lord! Minnv and others are people who practice martial arts. It is not surprising that some kung fu performers make a living. You can't just say that Minnv and others must be teachers of Xiangyong if they have kung fu."

The Australian asked Jiang Niang again, "Are you injured?"

Jiang Niang didn't dare to answer, she didn't know whether to say yes or no.But she was limping because Qingxia helped her in, it cannot be denied.I had no choice but to whisper: "Minnv is indeed injured."

"How to get hurt?"

Qingxia hurriedly said: "Master Hui! She was accidentally stabbed by a girl while practicing martial arts."

"Boss! They deny it!" Shopkeeper Chen didn't expect this young woman to be so sophisticated now, she calmly shirked the matter completely.He was furious in his heart - at this moment he didn't care about the horses anymore, but felt that he had lost face greatly.He quickly took out the guest account of the inn.

"Please look, Chief," he pointed to the name on the account book. "This group of people arrived in Deben Town three months ago. At that time, there were eight of them. They lived in this store until half a month ago. Moved away, and lived in the group room of the Luo family ancestral hall. The ancestral hall is not an inn, and Luo Tianqiu is not a kind person, how could they be allowed to live in the ancestral hall for no reason? You can find out if you ask the master!" He said triumphantly, "And now there are only three people left! What about the old man? What about the man? There are three children, where are they all now?!"

After hearing this, Ji Xin knew that what shopkeeper Chen said was true.He nodded silently and asked:
"Is shopkeeper Chen right about this?"

(End of this chapter)