After carefully reading the confession in his hand, Sun Tu smiled and looked at Song Jiang and Ju Liang who were sitting down: "So, the culprits in the attack on Xu Shangshu are actually the two mentioned above, Zhang Hu and Ji Biao. Rogue, as for those officials’ sons, are they implicated?”
Song Jiang did not answer, but looked at Ju Liang, indicating that he would answer. The latter suddenly perked up and felt that this was a good opportunity to show off his ability. He lowered his body and said, "The Taiwei is wise, that's exactly what happened. Maybe those Yamen princes really meant to trouble Xu Shangshu, but after all they didn't Those who dare to hurt others. But those two gangsters have always been bold, so it is reasonable for one of them to be unable to hold back and hurt someone.
"And in this way, we can have a satisfactory explanation to everyone. Since there are other people who hurt people, it is no longer good to detain those young men who already have official status. Of course, they should be given The punishment must still be meted out. As for the two criminals, they should be severely punished for hurting the officials by the people, even if they are killed, it will not be a heavy punishment."
"Well, Mr. Ju is an old man who has been in the Ministry of Justice for many years. He sees things more clearly than me. Yes, in this way, all aspects have been taken into consideration. No matter whether it is official or private, there is no fault. Xu Shangshu You can express some bad breath, not bad, not bad!" Sun Tu smiled and nodded again and again, which made Ju Liang even more happy and he said a few words of self-effacement.
But at this moment, Sun Tu suddenly changed the subject again: "But I still have doubts about one thing. Is this the real truth of the case?"
This question made Ju Liang's smile suddenly freeze, and he asked with some surprise: "What do you mean by what the Lieutenant said?"
"I just ask you, is this the truth? Was Xu Shangshu really injured by those two thugs?" Sun Tu looked at him and asked word by word.
"This... this is natural. The two of them even confessed and signed..."
"The confession may not be accurate. Someone could have instigated or forced them to do it. They are just two little people. They are like two ants in the officialdom. They are told to do whatever they say and they are not allowed to do it?" Sun Tu spoke slowly and calmly, but the aura on his body suddenly increased, causing Ju Liang to panic for a while, and his body began to tremble slightly.
Without waiting for the other party to speak, Sun Tu continued: "I have several questions about this matter. As long as you can give me satisfactory answers one by one, I will believe you. The first point is that those dudes handed over to the Ministry of Justice also have It's been several days, and you've been interrogating it for several days. Why didn't they suddenly remember this incident until the day before yesterday, instead of bringing it up early in the morning to excuse themselves
"Secondly, the situation at that time was so chaotic that the two dandies were able to spot exactly who Zhang Hu and Ji Biao were attacking Xu Shangshu who had injured his hand. How did they do it? Was it a coincidence, or was there another ulterior reason
"Third, and the most critical point, since Zhang Hu and the two men injured Xu Shangshu and knew that the court had arrested people and dealt with them severely, and even the sons of aristocratic families who were much higher than them were thrown into prison, how could they still do it? Do you dare to stay in the capital and wait for you to come and arrest you? These gangsters always have some sense when they hang out in Tokyo. After causing such a big disaster, shouldn't the first thing that comes to mind is to escape from here? You were caught so easily. It’s weird, think about it for yourself, but is it doubtful?”
three doubts
When the question was asked, Ju Liang was speechless and couldn't come up with any explanation. At the same time, beads of sweat continued to appear on his forehead, and he looked panicked: "Xiaguan...Xiaguan..."
Only then did Song Jiang speak: "The Lieutenant really made a clear decision, and I admire it. I didn't realize there was a problem until later, but you caught the flaw right away." After saying that, he looked at himself again. This subordinate suddenly shouted in a loud voice: "Tell me, why did you do this? Did you make the decision after colluding with someone? You think you can get rid of the matter by just finding two scapegoats. You really think that I am the law of the Song Dynasty." It’s just a decoration, can it be that I and the lieutenant are confused?”
As soon as he said these words, not to mention Ju Liang, even Sun Tu was slightly surprised and looked at Song Jiang again: "You..."
"Lieutenant Mingjian, in fact, last night, the official had already found out the inside story. The reason why Zhang Hu and Ji Biao admitted such crimes was because they were threatened with the lives of their family members! Although the identity of the other party has not been found out yet, One thing you can guess is that they did this just to rescue those suspects and dandies!"
As he said that, he suddenly stared at Ju Liang again and shouted sternly: "Tell me, who asked you to do this? If you dare to make false claims again, even if the lieutenant doesn't punish you, I will not let you go!"
At this moment, Song Jiang also had a strong murderous intention and came straight towards Ju Liang. After all, he had led troops to fight dozens of times, and even killed many people with his own hands. Now that he was angry, his power was not small, and Ju Liang felt unprecedented pressure. His body went limp, and finally He knelt down on the spot and said, "I... I have no choice but to do such a thing in a moment of confusion. Please forgive me, Lieutenant and Master..."
At this time, Sun Tu only looked at the pair of superiors and subordinates calmly, and only let Song Jiang perform on his own. And Song Jiang did not disappoint him. At this time, he had already stepped forward and stared at the other party condescendingly: "Then let's face it, who colluded with you?"
"Yes... this is Yang Huaixing, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. He is my son and daughter-in-law. He has always been on good terms with Xiaguan. This time, he asked me to entrust him to me many times. He also brought out dozens of officials from the court to suppress him. Xianguan really had no choice but to do it. I have to accept their proposal. After all, if this case is really investigated, let alone whether the culprit can be found, the father and brother of the suspect's son are not something that our criminal department can handle. Perhaps Mr. Song, you don't know the difficulties, but we, the punishment department, have clearly felt great pressure. We haven't slept peacefully for many days...
"So I have no choice but to... I can only choose to cooperate with them. After all, these young masters have learned a lesson, and Xu Shangshu's injuries have long since recovered. It's better to find a scapegoat." I want to give everyone an explanation for all my crimes, and then let go of all the young men with backgrounds. This will be beneficial to everyone, and it will not damage the face of the court. Moreover, those two scoundrels often do evil things on weekdays, so they It would not be a pity to kill him, but it would be an honor for them to die for this."
Although he was a little stuttered when he said this, he looked deeply convinced. He obviously believed that what he did was correct and there was no problem at all. But this performance made Sun Tu laugh. He was really angry at this man's fallacies: "Okay, that's good, it's really not true.
I am worthy of being the Minister of Punishment of the Song Dynasty. I really have far-sightedness that ordinary people do not have! It turns out that in your eyes, justice and justice are just a bargaining chip. As long as the interests of some noble people are involved, you can throw them away without hesitation! As for the lives of ordinary people, they are even less worth mentioning to you! It's really chilling that someone like you can still be the Minister of Justice. "
Mountain-like pressure was applied continuously, and Ju Liang's whole body became weak, sweating profusely, and he could not even speak. Even Song Jiang felt a sense of panic and quickly turned around and saluted: "Taiwei, I am a low-ranking official who is ignorant of people, so that..."
"It's not your fault. You've only been in the Ministry of Justice for a short time. It's reasonable to be blinded by some of his past words and deeds. If I really want to blame you, I can't escape the blame." Sun Tu immediately waved his hand at him and said, "It's you who Being able to see the flaw and find out the truth at the last moment can be considered as atonement."
Song Jiang was relieved. He was really afraid that Sun Tu would get angry at him and cause some trouble.
Sun Tu took another deep breath and looked at Ju Liang with disdain, who was still lying there shivering: "Ju Liang, as well as Yang Huaixing, the Minister of Rites, all used power for personal gain and interfered with justice. They are guilty of unpardonable crimes, so I will report to Your Majesty." I will remove you from your post and exile you, and never use you again!"
"Captain... The officer is just forced by the situation. I was confused for a moment. I don't dare to serve anymore. Please be merciful to me..." Ju Liang really didn't expect that Sun Tu's punishment would be so harsh. This time he was really out of his mind. , and started shouting loudly.
As a person who only entered the officialdom after ten years of poverty, and then climbed to such a high position after more than ten or twenty years of hard work, after being deprived of his official position by Sun Tu with just one sentence, and adding the suffix "never used", that It was really more miserable than killing him. This was a result that no official could accept. Even though Ju Liang was extremely afraid of Sun Tu, he couldn't help but beg for mercy loudly.
But it was too late. After saying these words, Sun Tu waved his hand, and the soldiers in front of the hall quickly came in and dragged the person out. Now that he has been stripped of all his identity, there is no need for everyone to be polite to him anymore.
Until a long time after Ju Liang was taken away, the hall was still filled with oppressive silence. After a while, Sun Tu said: "From this incident, we can see that those guys will not be obedient. This case cannot be delayed any longer, otherwise it will only cause more trouble."
Song Jiang also nodded with deep understanding: "What the captain said is true, but how should we judge it? At least so far, they still refuse to admit that Xu Shangshu was injured by themselves."
Sun Tu sneered: "Since you don't admit it, then treat it as guilty."
"Ah... this... isn't this an act that disregards the law?" Song Jiang said in surprise.
"It is a fact that they attacked important members of the imperial court outside the imperial city. Even if they were not the ones injured, they should be punished. Moreover, I did not say that I really wanted to take their lives. In this way, you will convict them of the crime when you return. Beat and injure the imperial officials, then take away all their backgrounds, beat them thirty times each, and then chain them to the most prosperous area of the city for half a month as punishment. I want to see who dares to attack the imperial officials in the future. Disrespectful!" Sun Tuhan made his decision with a smile on his face!