Inside the city lord's palace and outside the yamen where the case was being heard, there was still a huge flow of people.
The weather is gloomy today, not as hot as the previous days, and it looks lively and bearable.
For two days in a row, the new city lord, Mr. Zhao Yan, opened his mansion and tried the case in person.
The efficiency in handling cases is extremely high. Anyone who wants to redress an grievance can first get a reward of two taels of silver upon entering, and then they can state their grievances.
Compared with the past when Li An was the city lord, no matter whether the two sides of the case were right or wrong, as long as they dared to file a complaint, they would have a slap in the face after entering the court and then state the whole story of the case. This is much better.
Master Zhao Yan sent people to arrest the relevant persons in court, waited for them to be brought to justice, and tried them on the spot.
The result of the trial can be said to be very fair, and was judged strictly in accordance with Ming law and folk moral standards.
Ninety percent of those who take the initiative to file a complaint despite being wronged will end up cheering and giving thanks.
Onlookers also recognized the outcome and process of the trial very much.
As for the remaining 10%, it is because of poor brains and usually being arrogant and unreasonable. Even if they have been punished once, now that they have the opportunity, they are still unwilling to give in and want to express their "grievances".
They sue others and express their grievances, but they truly do not understand that they are the ones who are at fault.
The mentality of criminals and the logic of their behavior are actually different from normal people in many aspects. Otherwise, they would not commit crimes and provoke them, right?
Things that normal people think are illegal, in these people's eyes, are very normal.
In short, in their eyes, all their actions are correct and legal.
The rest of the people, whether they are those with whom I have a conflict or the judge who convicts me, are all wrong.
Warriors have a very big advantage in judging cases.
Of course, the warriors mentioned here are those warriors in the Bronze Skin Realm.
This type of warrior can use the power of his own energy and blood to intimidate both parties in the case so that they will not dare to lie when stating the facts of the case.
The power of Qi and blood of a bronze-skinned warrior is beyond the reach of ordinary people.
A copper-skinned warrior explodes the power of qi and blood in his body and puts all his qi on an ordinary person. The effect is equivalent to that of a defenseless person facing a fierce tiger.
It is already difficult to avoid being scared to the point of peeing and fainting.
Even a warrior at the Five Zang Realm would find it difficult to lie without changing his face under the power of Qi and Blood actively stimulated by a warrior at the Copper Skin Realm.
Not to mention these country folk who don’t even know a single Chinese character?
Unless someone has undergone special training, ordinary criminals can only tell the truth when they are interrogated by bronze-skin warriors.
Zhao Yan's fairness in judging the case is naturally guaranteed.
In addition to impartiality, the people were surprised to find that the new city lord paid great attention to details.
We can get to the bottom of every detail and suspicious aspect of the case and get to the bottom of it.
This is a great thing, it is simply incredible.
They had only heard of this situation in story books.
In the Ming Dynasty, judging cases by officials was a very simple and casual matter.
At least in Huang An's eyes, that's how it is.
Although officials refer to the "Da Ming Law" when judging cases, the law is really just a reference and a reference object. It can be used for reference, but it will certainly not be strictly followed.
The big shots in the capital and the court judged cases and tried criminals in strict accordance with the provisions and requirements of the law without the intervention of the Ming Emperor.
However, in places far away from the center of power, officials are very subjective in judging cases.
That is to say, "You didn't hit me, why did you help me?", similar bastard judgment logic.
Regarding the final verdict, the official's mood, the amount of money given to the chief official, and the background relationship between the two parties in the case all play a decisive role in it.
Fortunately, Zhao Yan is not that kind of person.
Although her approach to judging cases is relatively immature in comparison, she has to constantly ask and refer to the voices and opinions of the people on the left and right, and even outside the courtroom.
However, its impartiality and justice are real and can be recognized by those watching the excitement outside the hall.
The case is relatively simple. If the criminal's crime is relatively minor, the case can be immediately judged. If the criminal can be punished within his/her duties, the case should be judged and punished immediately.
Either fined money, imprisoned, or slapped on the butt.
Some crimes were very minor. After the beating, they were released on the spot and ordered to be carried back by their family members.
Even if the criminal is alone and has no family, he will order the government officials to help carry him back.
Punishment methods vary, but the results are very effective.
The people who were watching were very satisfied with this. From time to time, they cheered so loudly that they seemed to break the roof.
This trial is a great event for the entire Feng'an City. It has never happened before. More and more people are watching this bustle, and it is spreading wider and wider.
Zhao Yan would not be polite when he met those who had committed heinous crimes but were not guilty enough to die.
After the trial, he was pulled outside the hall and beaten severely by his men in front of many people in Feng'an City.
This beating was not to cripple him, but to put ragged clothes on his buttocks, thighs and other fleshy areas, and then beat him severely.
This method was suggested by Huang An. Zhao Yan knew some of the secrets, but he always remembered it.
These prisoners will have to work in the future, so they cannot be injured too seriously.
After these people were beaten once, they were put directly into jail to wait for subsequent treatment.
Zhao Yan and Huang An discussed the use of these people on the way to Feng'an City.
Zhao Yan decided to follow Huang An's suggestion and adopt Huang An's suggestion to deal with this type of criminals.
Generally speaking, such criminals are locked in a cell and left to die.
But now, Zhao Yan changed his mind.
After the main mission in Feng'an City is over, these criminals will participate in the work-for-crime scheme.
She recognized Huang An's method of punishing criminals. These criminals were often physically strong. If they were kept in a cell all the time, wouldn't it be a waste of energy?
It is better to lock them up for a few days and then take these criminals to work, build roads, farm, open fields, etc.
On this hot day, let them work under the hot sun, contribute to the people in the city, and forgive themselves for their crimes.
Isn't it much better than being locked up in a cell?
If someone needs to be sentenced to death, he will be taken to prison directly after a severe beating and ordered to rewrite the file and have the criminal press their fingerprints.
This was a severe beating, but a really severe beating that even involved the parties involved.
Often, at the end of this beating, the criminal either suffers broken bones or is directly disabled.
If Zhao Yan hadn't sent someone to stop them, these criminals would have been beaten to death on the spot by the angry crowd.
After receiving the hand-stamped file, she stamped her official seal on it, sealed the file and put it in the warehouse, waiting for the subsequent arrangements for manpower to send the file to the Yamen treasury of Youzhou City.
For criminals who have committed capital crimes, Zhao Yan only has the right to propose trials. She is not qualified to execute people on the spot and execute the death penalty on prisoners.
She needs to send the dossier to Youzhou City, the state city at the upper level. Then the adults in Youzhou City will order people to send the dossier to the capital, waiting for the verification from the lords in the court and the final Emperor Ming, before making a final decision.
The penalty of death.
Only after the verification is completed and the files and sentencing documents are issued, can she order someone to kill the condemned prisoner.
Even in Feng'an City, Zhao Yan's background and official position did not qualify him to be executed in court.
In other words, in the Ming Empire, only the Emperor Ming had the power to decide the death penalty.
Regarding the death penalty, court officials like Zhao Yan only had the power to recommend trials, but not to execute them.
Human life is at stake, even in the Ming Dynasty, the death penalty is by no means a trivial matter.
Not to mention Zhao Yan, the Lord of Feng'an City, not even the Youzhou Governor in Youzhou City, the martial arts master of the Golden Body Realm, Master Gao Zhenggao, could not execute the death penalty on the prisoner.
These files will be sent to the capital for review by the adults in the capital, and finally the Emperor Ming will make a decision on whether to execute the death penalty or not.
Of course, this is only the official way of sentencing and executing the death penalty.
For those big shots who are officials, there are too many ways to put an ordinary citizen to death.
They don't use such official and formal methods at all.
In this era that does not pay attention to human rights and hygiene, a criminal with no background and no money, who can be tried and sentenced to death by the chief judge, has a lot of potential when he is taken to court for the first time and before the case is stated.
Maybe, I'll get a severe beating.
This severe beating was carried out on both sides of the case, that is, the plaintiff and the defendant.
No matter whether he is wrong or not, as long as he goes to the Yamen to file a complaint, he will be arrested and beaten first.
After a beating, the presiding officer will let both parties state their case.
Such a bizarre method of judging cases is a latent rule in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. Every presiding judge is very good at using it and is full of praise for this method.
Although it is inhumane, it can greatly improve the accuracy of judgment and the efficiency of solving crimes.
After all, if you would rather be beaten than complain, it shows that there is a real injustice.
For a death row inmate who has no background, when the presiding judge sentences him to death, he can actually be sure that this person will definitely die.
In the officialdom, the process of transferring files and waiting for the emperor to confirm that the death penalty can be carried out is too long.
Moreover, there are often death penalty criminals in the jurisdiction, which to a certain extent can reflect that local officials have greatly neglected their duty to educate the people.
Therefore, these criminals could not wait for Emperor Ming's judgment at all, and even died in the dark cells before the files came out of the yamen.
Under the instruction of the presiding officer, they will "commit suicide", "die of illness", "escape from prison", etc.
Zhao Yan chose the same method. Criminals who could be deemed dead by her did not need to live for another year and a half. It was better to die early and be reborn early and be a good person in the next life.
Huang An is not a good person, and Zhao Yan is not a good person. The two of them don't have much time and energy to waste on these evil people who can be sentenced to death in the hands of the Ming Dynasty and both of them.
The trial meeting at the city lord's government office was in full swing, with more and more people watching.
Every time a case ends, the onlookers will cheer.
All relevant information about the case will be spread out in a very short period of time, and it will become the talk of the people in the city after dinner.
The more clever storyteller is at the first scene of the melon-eating, artistically processing the case on the spot, and helping to spread the word.
And as the case spreads more and more, its influence becomes greater, and more and more people come to the City Lord's Mansion to take the initiative to watch the excitement.
At the same time, Zhao Yan's reputation as the Great Master of Qingtian spread wider and wider and gained more and more recognition.