The mountains in the distance are already showing the color of indigo, but the spring cold in Chang'an City is still chilly.
However, today this most majestic city in the world seemed like a pot of boiling hot water. Countless people and scholars came out of the door and gradually gathered in front of the Xingbu Yamen, surrounding the entire street.
The "Fang Jun murder case" that is making a lot of noise today is being investigated by the "Three Divisions" of the Punishment Department, Dali Temple, and Yushitai in the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment!
Whether it is the imperial guards in Suwei Palace, Wuhou hunting down bandits, patrols in Jingzhao Mansion, or the garrison of the Sixteenth Guards, they all have their bows drawn and their swords unsheathed, their armors bright and ready, and they patrol the city with their eyes wide open, lest there be someone. Those with ulterior motives incite public opinion and take the opportunity to cause trouble...
Fang Jun is a celebrity.
Not only does he hold a high position in charge of the Jingzhao Mansion, he is also the son-in-law of the emperor, a brave and invincible general, a gifted poet, a gifted scholar, both civil and military, and of high moral character! All the people in Guanzhong have benefited from him, and no one does not publicize it. Fang Jun's benevolence has given him an upright reputation, and he has already become a leader among the younger generation of officials. In the future, he will be the white jade pillar of the empire and the purple gold beam of the sea!
But now, it is Jing Zhaoyin, who has the reputation of "Buddha of all families", who is involved in a murder case...
The common people are honest and simple. In this era of extremely low literacy rate, their simple minds only believe in their own judgment. And the reason why they judge things is very simple - bad guys will not do good things, and good people will never do them either. bad thing!
You ask, is Fang Jun a good guy or a bad guy?
Even a three-year-old baby will yell at you: "I will be the second husband of the house one day!"
How could a good official like Fang Jun, who was dedicated to serving the public and caring for the people, get involved in a murder case?
The people did not believe it, and Fang Jun had never confessed, so they believed that Fang Jun had been framed and slandered by his political opponents and had been wronged.
When two poems written on the walls of prisons came out and were widely circulated among the people, public opinion suddenly became fierce and the people were filled with anger!
Again, how could a man as talented as Fang Jun, who has never been seen in ancient times, do something so harmful and contrary to national law?
"Heavy snow weighs on the green pine trees, and the green pine trees stand tall and straight..."
"I will smile to the sky with my horizontal sword, leaving behind my liver and gallbladder..."
Even the scholars from all over the world who came to the capital to prepare for the Spring Festival couldn't sit still!
Listen!
How could such a majestic and heroic poem be written with so much anger if one had not suffered a huge injustice?
Lords of the imperial court, don’t you just open your eyes and take a look?
Will such a loyal, honest and self-responsible official be framed and slandered by you, and have to be convicted of murder, thereby cutting off his beautiful future?
The common people and scholars were furious. They did not dare to openly plead guilty to Fang Jun, but they could spontaneously come to the criminal department to silently express their dissatisfaction and anger!
Finally, His Majesty, who was in the Tai Chi Palace, heard the angry voices from the people and called the "Three Judges", the highest authority in the Tang Dynasty, to try Fang Jun's case.
In the eyes of the people, this was an opportunity set up to clear Fang Jun's grievances. The people had a strong idea in their hearts. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, officials had governed the Qingming Dynasty and the law was strict. Even His Majesty, the supreme emperor in the world, would face Wei Zheng. To be frank and make mistakes in the face of merciless criticism, to have a wise king and a wise minister, this is the splendid chapter of a prosperous age!
Even if there are one or two scoundrels in the court who commit such insidious and treacherous actions, the majority of them are honest and upright officials. After the trial of the "Three Division Judges", Fang Erlang will definitely be cleared!
Therefore, the common people and scholars all flocked to the criminal department, waiting to receive the results of the case trial as soon as possible...
*****
In the main hall of the Criminal Department, there are many officials from the Three Law Departments.
Sun Fuga, the minister of Dali Temple, Liu Dewei, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, Liu Jie, the censor of the administrative affairs department, and the "three envoys" were all present.
"Yushi Zhongcheng" was established during the Qin Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, it was the deputy official of the Yushi Dafu, or the law enforcement officer in the Yushi Zhong, with a rank of thousands of stones. Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty abolished the Yushi Dafu, and made Yushi Zhongcheng the chief of the Yushi Taifu. It has been used in subsequent dynasties.
Only the official names changed from time to time: Cao Cao once changed the name of Yushi Zhongcheng to Gongzheng to correct the court etiquette of all officials; the Northern Wei Dynasty also changed the name to Lieutenant. By the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the political situation was unstable and the world was in turmoil. The Yushi officials were sometimes replaced and sometimes abolished.
This official position is often vacant.
Therefore, the Yushi Zhongcheng was actually the chief of the Yushitai. In the Sui Dynasty, the Yushi Zhongcheng was replaced by the Yushi Zhongcheng. When the Tang Dynasty was established, the Yushi Zhongcheng was changed to the Yushizhongcheng and the Censorship Officer. They were established together with the Yushi Dafu, but they were still used as the Yushitai to carry out affairs.
The highest officer and Yushi doctor have more symbolic meanings.
It wasn't until Gaozong Li Zhi ascended the throne as emperor and avoided the emperor's name that he changed the title of Censor Censor back to Censor Zhongcheng, but that's for another time...
Sun Fuga was in the middle, Liu Dewei was on the left, and Liu Jie was on the right. The three of them occupied the main seat, with a majestic and stern atmosphere. Wei Yijie, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and Zhang Yunji, the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, accompanied the last seat. There were five people in total, forming the main body of today's trial.
However, this case has far-reaching implications and is of a bad nature. The deceased is the legitimate son of Changsun Wuji, and the suspect is Fang Xuanling's son. It has already affected the interests of all parties. Therefore, there are still Wei Zheng, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Linghu Defen, the Minister of Rites, and Hejian County.
Wang Li Xiaogong and other court officials sat on one side and listened to ensure the fairness of the trial.
Outside the lobby, noisy and noisy sounds could be heard faintly...
Sun Fujia frowned slightly, turned slightly, and said to Liu Dewei beside him: "There are many common people and scholars outside. Once there are deviations in the trial of the case, it will easily cause public opinion to become chaotic and lead to serious consequences. This is the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment, why not send Liu Shangshu to
Are the officials going to disperse them all to prevent any unexpected events?"
Liu Dewei was so angry that he wanted to raise his hand and punch Sun Fujia hard...
Even if you want to trick people, don't be so obvious, okay? Are you insulting my intelligence or are you deliberately entertaining me?
Even the emperor has tacitly allowed these common people and scholars to gather outside the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice. You asked me to disperse them... If a conflict arises, do you still want my hat?
Liu Dewei glanced at Sun Fujia and said angrily: "How many people are there in the Punishment Department? If such a small number of people go out, they will be surrounded all of a sudden. Besides, there is quite a misunderstanding about the Punishment Department in the outside world. It would be better not to disperse them. Once
When he went there, he was caught in front of a treacherous minister and made trouble. However, the censors in the Censorship Station have always been honest and honest, with an excellent reputation, and the people were very impressed. Why not let Liu Censor send extremely censors to persuade the people and scholars?
Have all the children dispersed?"
Liu Ji rolled his eyes and said calmly: "The Yushitai is responsible for supervising hundreds of officials. How can it have any experience in communicating with the people? Or most of the yamen servants in the Ministry of Punishment are from the common people and are more friendly to the people. Presumably the people will trust them more."
Liu Jie would not fall for Liu Dewei's trick. Not only did he reject the offer simply, but he also kicked the ball back...
Liu Dewei's eyelids twitched and he suppressed his anger.
Mother!
What does it mean that the yamen servants of the Ministry of Punishment come from the people and are more friendly to the people?
You might as well just say that you despise the government officials in the Criminal Department as a bunch of idiots...
The three of them muttered a few words. Anyway, they wanted to trick others when they had nothing to do. It didn't matter if they didn't succeed, so they all stopped and kept silent.
Leaning slightly, a government servant walked in quickly from outside the door and said respectfully: "The time has come."
Sun Fujia nodded, coughed, cleared his throat, and said loudly: "The murder case of Chang Sun Dan is now being tried by the Third Law Division. Bring the criminal Fang Jun to court!"
"promise!"
Then several government servants from the hall responded and went to Dalao to pick up the person.
After a while, Fang Jun, who was dressed in regular clothes and full of energy, was brought to the lobby.
Fang Junxin walked in and stood firmly in the hall. He first saluted the three chief judges, and then saluted the big bosses on the side. Then he stood up straight and faced the chief "third officer" with a calm expression.
make".
Sun Fuga glanced at Fang Jun and said loudly: "Fang Jun, regarding the murder of Chang Sun Dan, can you plead guilty?"
Fang Jun pursed his lips and was speechless for a moment...
Li Xiaogong on the side sighed slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable. He had a lot of contact with Fang Jun, and knew how arrogant this seemingly irritable and casual young man was in his bones! It was as if he was standing on the clouds and looking down on all living beings.
Ao Ran, that is a kind of courage that has the world in mind!
But such a young man who is so proud to the core has no choice but to obey His Majesty's will and bow his head to plead guilty...
The old god Wei Zheng, who has always been famous for his uprightness in criticizing and remonstrating, closed his eyes and meditated. His gray eyebrows did not even move. Whether Fang Jun deserved his punishment or was framed, it seemed that everything in front of him had nothing to do with him...
Linghu Defen, the Minister of Rites, had a smile on his lips and his heart was very bright!
Didn't you kid humiliate me over and over again? Now let's see what fate you will end up with! The entire Guanlong Group has been fully mobilized, and countless favors and interests have flowed to the five people in charge of the "Three Law Division" who are in charge of the trial
Among the officials, plus the Jiangnan nobles who are adding insult to injury, and the Shandong aristocratic families who sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, the overall situation is decided!
I just wait and see how you, the "Fang family's thousand-mile horse", will fall from the clouds into dust, and how you will be trampled on like an ant!
There was silence in the lobby.
No matter what camp everyone in the hall is in, they all know in their hearts that the Fang family will definitely be convicted today...
Since it is irreversible, everyone is naturally happy to give Fang Jun some time. After all, even if he is dismissed from his official position, sent to the army and exiled, Fang Jun is still the same as the stick. He will never beg for mercy or swallow his anger just because he does not have an official title.
He has a notorious reputation and cannot be provoked...
Everyone is waiting for Fang Jun to plead guilty.
Fang Jun stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, the expression on his face changing, and his mind wandering.
Are you following His Majesty Li Er's wish to bow your head and plead guilty, awaiting subsequent compensation?
Or should you follow your own heart and fight to the end even if you are attacked by swords and axes?
After a long time, Fang Jun finally breathed out slowly.
He looked around at the people in the hall, who were either full of sympathy and sighing, or triumphant and gloating, all kinds of gestures were visible to his eyes.