Without the help of Nanchang's rumor-mongering experts, Guo Yushi's shocking scandal spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital. The prostitutes and clients spread the gossip as well as professionals, and there were also a group of people who were extremely jealous of Guo Yushi.
The dissatisfied generals added fuel to the fire.
Of course, there are also a large number of people who are unwilling to believe this rumor. They think it is a naked frame-up. The people who hold this view are mainly civil servants. A group of people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate reacted the most fiercely. Although these people usually
The relationship between Li and Guo Zheng is not close, but Guo is a member of the Metropolitan Procuratorate after all. It depends on the owner to beat the dog. If Guo Zheng is really convicted this time, how will the censors enforce the law in the future? How will they participate in the investigation?
Civil servants from other ministries were also very indignant. Not to mention that this was most likely a frame-up, so what if it was really prostitution? What happened to people with strong tastes? What happened to killing a lowly turtle slave? Officials in the capital still sleep in flowers and willows.
Isn't it small? There are many people who commit crimes and hurt people. Since we are officials in the same dynasty, who doesn't have a little power in his hands, who can guarantee that it will not be used by others in the future? The Wucheng Army and Horses Division is really good at handling this matter.
No, that Li Yan seems to be a smart man, how could he do such a thing that breaks the rules of the game?
The civil servants unanimously believed that there was someone behind Li Yan, and that the mastermind behind this was the military general group. The Ming Dynasty had always used civil servants to control the military, but since the Manchus entered the customs, the status of warriors rose sharply during the war, and once surpassed the civil servants.
Since taking power, rituals and music have been broken down. Many local military generals do not pay attention to civilian officials at the same level. Only after the Donglin Party came to power did this evil trend change.
A group of arrogant military generals were severely punished before their arrogance was suppressed, and the atmosphere of the court was completely new. What happened now was the counterattack of the military generals. Their leader was none other than the most powerful suppressor in recent times.
Uncle Wu!
It is not unfounded to believe that Uncle Zhenwu is the mastermind behind the scenes. Yushi Guo just participated in a copy of Uncle Zhenwu a few days ago. This matter is well known in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Revenge must be revenge. The front foot was involved.
Something happened on the back foot, what else could this be but revenge?
It is a big deal for a censor to break the law. The normal procedure is to be dismissed from office and then imprisoned, and special officials will be assigned to conduct the trial. However, what happened last night was an emergency, so Guo Zheng's official position is still there, but he was first dismissed by the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division.
He was detained. The Metropolitan Procuratorate took advantage of this and launched an attack in the morning. The censor of Zuodu jumped out and asked Li Yan, the military commander of the Five Cities, saying that he had taken people without permission and violated the rules of the court. The censor of Guo should be arrested immediately.
Release, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate will send personnel to investigate the matter thoroughly. Other civil servants also echoed, Zhu Youxiao snorted: "Guo Zheng, I remember him, this case needs to be thoroughly investigated, but it cannot be handled by the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Submit it to the three judicial divisions for joint hearing, and the South Factory and the East Factory will send personnel to hear the case.”
The emperor issued the imperial edict, and everyone had no choice but to prepare for the joint trial. The chief judge of the joint trial of the Three Law Divisions was Xu Jiujing, the chief minister of Dali Temple, and the two deputy judges were Zhao Xuan, the left deputy capital censor, and Zhao Xuan, the deputy chief censor of the capital.
Feng Qingshan, the Minister of Justice, was a third-grade civil servant. However, Xu Jiujing was the oldest and had the most experience in trial cases, so he was appointed as the chief judge. Dongchang and Nachang also sent officials of corresponding levels to hear the trial.
On the day of the public trial, there was a sea of people outside the Yamen of Dali Temple. It is very rare for a censor to be tried. Many of the people who came to watch were prostitutes. The story of the perverted and pervert Guo Censor had already spread in the prostitute circles in the capital, and
The word spread further through the mouths of prostitutes. As juniors in the same industry, many prostitutes gave up their business today and wanted to support the plaintiff Ruhua. When there are more girls, there will naturally be more rogues.
They stood up and surrounded the usually sparse Dali Temple with three floors inside and three floors outside.
When the two adults from the Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate arrived, they were very unhappy to see so many people watching, but they had nothing to say. This criminal case involves the public, and it is unreasonable not to let the common people hear the trial, and there is no Dali Temple.
What can I say? How can I be so good as to overtake others?
Dongchang sent a middle-aged eunuch to listen to the trial. This man was kind-hearted and didn't talk much. He sat quietly drinking tea. It seemed that Dongchang was not very interested in this case and had no intention of getting involved. But when Nanchang came
The person who heard the hearing never showed up, and the chairs were left empty on one side of the lobby, which made people feel unsure.
The presiding judge Xu Jiujing is an old official, not tall in stature and not outstanding in appearance, but he is a former number one scholar and has risen from the county magistrate step by step. He is good at solving cases, not afraid of powerful people, and does not form cliques.
Although Dali Temple is one of the three law divisions, the main cases in recent years have been handled by Dongchang Jinyiwei, so Dali Temple can only
Handling some ordinary civil cases, Xu Jiujing, as the country's final adjudicator, has settled many difficult cases and has a good reputation. This is why the imperial court chose him as the chief judge.
After the three drums were played, the adults sat down to ask the case, and after a while of humility, the trial was started by the presiding judge Xu Jiujing. He was shocked: "Bring the plaintiff."
There were two plaintiffs, one was girl Ruhua, and the other was Zhang Gou. The latter was temporarily unable to go to the hall because of serious injuries. Ruhua came to the front of the hall, knelt down with a thump, and started to sing in a long voice. Xu Jiujing looked at her red coat.
Wearing green trousers, embroidered shoes, and a makeup look on her face, you could tell she was an old prostitute. She immediately stopped crying and asked: "What is the name of the person kneeling in the hall? Who is suing?"
"The slave's surname is Liu, whose name is Ruhua. He was a famous courtesan by the Qinhuai River twenty years ago. Now he is suing the evil man who paid for prostitution without paying, and also killed and injured the slave brother Zhang Gou...Guo Zheng."
The onlookers outside burst into laughter when they heard Ruhua announcing her home address. Xu Jiujing frowned and asked, "Do you have the certificate?"
"The slave family has the paper." Ruhua trembled and took out a paper and presented it. Xu Jiujing asked the Yamen servant to pass it over and read it at a glance. He couldn't help but secretly marveled. The paper was well written and it was written by a very experienced person.
The lawyer's hand didn't write many words, but every sentence hit the point and described what happened that night very clearly.
"Two adults, please watch." Xu Jiujing didn't say anything after reading it, but asked the Yamen servant to forward the complaint to the other two deputy judges for viewing.
"Absurd! What nonsense!"
After reading the petition, Zhao Xuan, the censor of the left deputy capital, couldn't help but cursed the case, "Not to mention anything else, it is a serious crime for people to sue an official. This cunning woman dares to falsely accuse an official of the imperial court. She should be beaten with a hundred killing sticks first."
."
"What Mr. Zhao said is true. How can we do it without any rules? In the future, these unscrupulous people will imitate officials and sue officials with a piece of paper. Where is the face of the court and where is the dignity of the government? I don't think it is necessary to not only beat the board, but also roll the nails."
Ban!" Feng Qingshan, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, also said, he didn't read the complaint carefully at all, and made up his mind when he came, and he would cooperate with the Metropolitan Procuratorate to suppress this case.
Xu Jiujing looked at the eunuch of Dongchang. The eunuch was sitting with his eyes closed, as if he didn't care about the affairs in the hall at all. So Xu Jiujing said: "My lords, the plaintiff is an old woman. She can kill a hundred people with a powerful stick without mixing it with fat."
Loss of life? The plaintiff was beaten to death before the trial even started. How can this be tried? In my opinion, it is better to let the defendant make a defense and let us negotiate a trial. If it is really a false accusation against an official, it will not be too late to punish him.
"
In the end, the two deputy judges gave Xu Zhengqing face, so they no longer insisted on their opinions, and Xu Jiujing still tried the case.
"Bring the defendant to court."
The government officials standing on both sides beat the ground rhythmically with water sticks and shouted "Mighty" in a low voice. Guo Zheng was brought up. He was still wearing the coarse short clothes of the day of the incident, but he did not wear a bamboo hat. At this moment, he was proud
Standing in the hall, he only looked at the three adults in the hall and did not kneel down. His honor and official position have not been removed, so it is legal to do so.
"Guo Zheng, let me ask you, what were you doing in the old street in the south of the city on the night of the incident?" Xu Jiujing asked in a Chen voice.
"I went to incognito to investigate the case. Because at noon that day, someone sent a secret letter to invite me to go. He said that there was evidence of corruption and perversion of the law by senior officials of this dynasty and wanted to present it to me. That's why I dressed up like this. I didn't expect that just now.
When I arrived, two people jumped out and grabbed the money I wanted, and threatened them with knives. I had no choice but to resist, and they hit the wrong man in the fight and injured the man. Later, the patrol team from Wucheng Bingma Division arrived, and they were indiscriminate.
The officer was arrested indiscriminately, and the woman next to her, Ruhua, became a high-sounding accuser. This is what happened, please three adults, please take a closer look!" Guo Zheng impassionedly spoke out a watertight defense.
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Framed, clearly framed, this was the first reaction of everyone in the hall after hearing this defense. Ruhua refused to agree, crying and rushing towards Guo Zheng: "You damn pretty boy, you obviously can't pay.
Zhang Goucai used a knife to scare you when you asked for prostitution..." Before he could finish his words, he was pulled up by the yamen servant.
Ruhua still wanted to curse loudly, but was frightened by Xu Jiujing: "If you dare to yell in the court again, you will be served." Ruhua did not dare to speak, Xu Jiujing continued to ask: "Guo Zheng, I want to ask you, have you received the invitation?
Where is the secret message? Who can testify? Why did you leave the things you carried with you in the flower-like room?"
"The secret message has been destroyed and it involves confidentiality, so it has not been disclosed to others. This is the rule of our Metropolitan Procuratorate in handling cases. I believe your Excellency is well aware of this." Guo Zheng replied.
"As for saying that my personal belongings were left at Ruhua's house, it's even more inexplicable. She has a lot of things at home, and she just took one or two items and said they belong to me. What evidence is there for this?" Guo Zheng's tone when he said this
Clearly sarcastic.
That bamboo hat was bought by Guo Zheng at a roadside stall, and there was no way to prove that it was his private property. Guo Zheng had already thought about this. As long as he kept his mouth shut, the possibility of winning the case was very high.
"How do you defend the witness matter? Several prostitutes on the old street said they knew you." Xu Jiujing stared at Guo Zheng and asked. This case seems simple, but in fact it is very complicated. It involves all aspects of the relationship, and there are some differences.
If you are cautious, you will offend others. It is really a difficult case.
"Hahaha" Guo Zheng looked up to the sky and smiled, and then said seriously: "Master Xu, do you believe in a bunch of old prostitutes who can't afford to eat, or do you believe in the fourth-rank right-ranking censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate? This case can only be so clear.
Yes, someone conspired to frame me and set up such a clumsy situation to ruin my reputation. They have good intentions."
Xu Jiujing had been the chief minister of Dali Temple for so many years, but he had never encountered such a defendant. Even though he was extremely alert, he could not react at the moment.
While everyone was stunned by his words, Guo Zheng struck while the iron was hot and continued: "These old and senile old prostitutes can sell their bodies for a dozen copper coins. They are so shameless and shameless. Who can guarantee that?
Weren't they bribed? Everyone knows that prison history is an official who offends people. There are many officials in the capital who hate me, Guo Zheng, with itch. On the day of the incident, the patrol team from the Bingma Division came so quickly and in such a timely manner.
, cannot help but make people suspicious, you must know that they never patrol there normally. Therefore, I request that the accuser and witnesses be tortured, find out the mastermind behind the scenes, and give me justice!"
The people outside wanted to see the fate of this perverted man who tortured prostitutes, but they did not expect that he turned the guest and changed the defendant into the accuser. Everyone was stunned. There was silence inside and outside the court for a while, and some people came because they heard about Guo Yushi's name.
Yes, originally they didn’t believe that Guo Zheng would engage in prostitution and murder. Now when they saw the idol speaking so righteously and majesticly, they couldn’t help but scream. The prostitutes immediately refused, and there was a dispute and they started to fight and scold each other. The gate of Dali Temple
It was chaos before.
"Quiet! Silence!" Xu Jiujing picked up the gavel and banged on the table. More than a dozen government officials rushed out to maintain order, and finally brought the chaos under control.
"What do you two adults think?" Xu Jiujing asked the two deputy judges.
"There is no need to call witnesses. They are all shrews and cunning people. Guo Yushi was clearly framed. This is already very clear." Zhao Xuan said.
"What Mr. Zhao said is absolutely true. The most important thing now is how to clear the grievances of Guo Yushi and find out who was behind the scenes." Feng Qingshan also agreed.
Xu Jiujing nodded. Although he was an upright official, he was not a confused upright official. There was no human life in this case, and it was not a serious and unjust case. Moreover, even if Guo Zheng really went to prostitutes or killed people, for these prostitutes and turtle slaves,
It is a pity to lose a great and upright censor.
As long as you are a mortal, you can have no faults, Xu Jiujing thought.
After making up his mind to acquit Guo Zheng, Xu Jiujing symbolically asked the Dongchang father-in-law: "What do you think, father-in-law?"
This father-in-law’s surname was Cao, who was specially sent by Wei Zhongxian to hear the trial. Although the hearing officials could not directly interfere with the trial, it was still useful to say a few words at critical moments. The eldest princess went out to play with Uncle Zhenwu and had a conflict with Guo Zheng.
Dongchang knew that the emperor didn't like Guo Zheng, and Dongchang also knew it. He wanted to let the civil servants and the man who heard the trial in Nanchang make a fuss, and Dongchang would take advantage of it, but no one has come to Nanchang so far.
Eunuch Cao's face was pale, but he was very anxious in his heart. If these civil servants were to find Guo Zheng innocent, then Eunuch Wei would definitely blame himself for being useless, and the emperor would also feel that Dongchang was useless.
So he took action, put down his tea cup and said with a smile: "It seems that there are not only shrews and cunning witnesses among the witnesses, but more than a dozen military attachés from the Wucheng Bingma Division and the Beijing Army Guards have witnessed the case. Why not let them come out and talk about it?"
?”
Guo Zheng was not afraid. Eunuch Cao's words were in vain, because when those generals showed up, everything that was supposed to happen had already happened. What they saw did not prove that Guo Zheng was guilty. Logically speaking, prostitution is a very private matter.
, as long as he is not caught in action, it cannot be counted. As for killing someone with a knife, it is all based on his own words, and he is not afraid of the testimony of any witness.
The three officials exchanged glances and decided that it would be better to complete the procedure, let all the witnesses speak, let all the physical evidence be presented to the court, and make this case a solid case to silence others.
"Submit witnesses and evidence," Xu Jiujing said.
The witnesses were Xiao Qi from the Nancheng Bingma Division patrol who arrested Guo Zheng that night, as well as several old prostitutes that Guo Zheng had patronized. The physical evidence was the murder knife, Guo Zheng's bamboo hat and half of a red candle, as well as the piece of money pretending to be silver.
Lead weight.
As expected, the testimonies of these witnesses were weak under Guo Zheng's sophistry and could not form effective accusations at all.
Guo Zheng glanced at the dejected witnesses and smiled proudly. He could think of the person who framed him behind the scenes. The Wucheng Bingma Division was involved, and he had just participated in Zhenwu Bo's visit a few days ago. This matter
Ninety percent of it was done by him, but a warrior is ninety percent of a warrior. It's okay to fight with one's life, but to be cunning and conspiracy-minded, it would be too childish to try to bring down oneself based on such a poor layout.
The matter was already very clear. Several adults in the hall felt that the case could be closed. Xu Jiujing coughed slightly and was about to pronounce the verdict. Suddenly he heard a noise outside the door. After a gong sounded, someone shouted: "Uncle Zhenwu is here."
Another protagonist of the hearing finally arrived belatedly.