As for the other four dental shops, we will judge them as they should."
Zhao Ligong said:
"Based on the prisoner's confession and some evidence found in these dental shops.
These four dental shops not only abducted and trafficked children, but also committed the most serious crime of 'immorality' among the ten heinous crimes."
These are the ten heinous crimes, which are the ten evils in an idiom that we often use in later generations - "the ten heinous crimes cannot be forgiven".
Immorality: Killing a family without committing a crime, dismembering people, killing living people, cutting off their limbs, mutilating children, cutting off their limbs and forcing them to beg, or using witchcraft to harm people.
"So according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the main criminal was executed in Lingchi, and the wife was exiled two thousand miles. The accomplices were all beheaded, and at the same time, the property was confiscated and handed over to the family of the deceased."
Wang Lidong asked:
"The shopkeepers of several dental shops have confessed? Didn't they involve the owners behind them?"
Zhao Ligong shook his head and said:
"The shopkeepers are not stupid, their family members and their families are all in the hands of the master.
If you take the blame, then your parents, wife and children will definitely be taken care of by the master's family, otherwise...
Moreover, when these dental shops were registered in the yamen, the registered owners were the names of several shopkeepers.
Unless there is substantial evidence, it is impossible to implicate the employer behind them based on their confessions alone."
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, business was basically controlled by officials, gentry and nobles, but it was not them who came forward.
It's always the housekeeper or servant of the family who comes forward.
On the one hand, it is due to the regulations of the court that officials are not allowed to do business. The second is for the sake of reputation. Scholars, peasants, industry and merchants, businessmen are humble professions. Most of these gentry families have scholars, and they are afraid of tarnishing their reputations. They are typically both important and established. There are also
In today's situation, if something goes wrong, you won't be implicated.
After hearing this, Wang Lidong decided:
"Then do as you say, sir, and then report the case to the prefect's Yamen."
When it comes to the death penalty, the county government has no power to conclude the case. It must escort the case files and the prisoner to the prefect's government office for second-level interrogation.
The magistrate re-examined the case and judged that there was no problem, and issued it to the procuratorate.
The review by the inspector is the third level of review and then reported to the governor or governor.
For death sentences, the governor must also report to the Ministry of Punishment, and particularly serious cases must be reported directly to the emperor.
A process can take two to three months at the fastest, or more than half a year at the slow end.
The death penalty in the Ming Dynasty, or the death penalty in ancient times, except for treason and other serious crimes that could be executed immediately, generally the death penalty prisoners had to wait until the frost in autumn and before the winter solstice before they could be executed.
Therefore, these people in Yaxing have to wait until the second year before they can be executed.
Wang Lidong felt unhappy at the thought of giving them free food and accommodation for so long.
With food and shelter included, you don't have to work, and you live a better life than him.
"Sir, please explain to Jin Daya later.
He often complains, saying that all his subordinates are new people and he has to do all the work himself. This time there is just so much material, so let him train the new people well and don't kill them."
Zhao Ligong didn't think there was anything wrong. After knowing what these people had done, it was hard to feel any sympathy.
"My benefactor, I took out a total of 1,200 taels of silver from several tooth shops, 5 shops, 8 yards, and some sundries."
"How was the previous practice handled?"
Zhao Ligong explained:
"As usual, one tael for the yamen, two taels for the squad leader, five taels for the head catcher, two taels for the injured brothers, and thirty taels for the casualties. As for the shops and yards, we will find a time to sell them."
Thinking that today was the first large-scale operation organized by the county government, Wang Lidong said:
"An additional one tael will be added to each person, and those who are on duty at the Yamen will also receive half a tael.
As for the shop and yard, they are kept and may be used in the future."
He knew that the amount of silver he got today would definitely be more than that, but the difference wouldn't be too much.
As long as he doesn't go too far, he will turn a blind eye.
After all, if you take the bulk, the people below also have to drink some soup.
Wang Lidong remembered what he found when he went out today, so he asked:
"I have something to ask you, sir."
"My benefactor, please speak."
"Why are there so many idle men in the county? Where do they come from?"
After Zhao Ligong listened, he said:
"My benefactor, mainly in the past six months, Japanese pirates have often come to the island to burn, kill and loot, causing the destruction of many villages.
The villagers who managed to survive either fled to their relatives' homes, or those who had no place to go had no choice but to flee into the county town.
But there are only so many jobs in the county, so there are many idle people."
Wang Lidong thought that the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver he had raised in the past few days were just taken from the people and used for the people.
"Sir, I want to repair the four walls of the county town, the two streets, and the road leading to the dock from our county town.
You and several masters can calculate together the costs and manpower required for these projects.
If there is no problem, we will start work as soon as possible, and I will leave it all to you, sir."
Zhao Ligong hesitated and said:
"My dear friend, if we need to repair so many places, we will need a lot of money.
Where does this money come from? If taxes are increased, maybe...?"
Wang Lidong said:
"I went back to the provincial capital a while ago and met several wealthy people with good intentions.
Knowing that our Linjiang County has encountered several Japanese disturbances this year, we must donate money.
I didn't want it originally, but unfortunately a few of them wanted to donate it.
I really couldn't win over a few people, so I reluctantly accepted it in the end.
Therefore, the cost of this repair does not need to be taxed, and a part of it will be directly allocated from this donation."
After Wang Lidong finished speaking, he saw the word "disbelief" written all over Zhao Ligong's face, and said to Qing Qian who was waving a fan behind him:
"Go to my room. There is a small box on the second floor of the bookshelf. Go get it."
Qing Qian snorted and ran into Wang Lidong's room.
After a while, a wooden box came to the two of them.
After signaling Qing Qian to put the wooden box on the table, he said to Zhao Ligong:
"Sir, please open the box and take a look."
Zhao Ligong was not polite. He opened the wooden box and saw four stacks of silver notes neatly placed in the box.
The denominations of the top four banknotes are all one hundred taels.
"This this....."
If there are several stacks of banknotes all of the same denomination, then a conservative estimate would suggest that there are at least 40,000 to 50,000 taels in this box.
After calming down and looking at Wang Lidong, Zhao Ligong reached out and picked up a stack of banknotes and flipped through them carefully.
I found that each one was worth one hundred taels, and the pile was almost one hundred pieces.
He had never seen so much money in his life. As he clicked the money, his hands began to tremble involuntarily.
"My benefactor, is all this money really a charity?"
Wang Lidong nodded and smiled:
"It's all donated by a few wealthy people, so you can rest assured now."
But I thought in my heart: With just this little money, you are so excited. If you throw it all away, Lanlan may lose a biological father.
Zhao Ligong immediately calmed down.
Since the benefactor said it was a charity, it was a charity, and there was no name written on the bank note, so who would find the money too hot to handle.
And judging from Wang Lidong's intentions, this money should be used as government funds.
Last night, several of their masters had sorted out all the accounts in the yamen.
After seeing the results, he was worried about how to tell Wang Lidong.
Mainly because the previous county magistrate was so wicked that he emptied the county government offices without leaving any money for them.