Tang Hanlin whispered, "Fang Xusheng, you must think twice! If you use your private soldiers to deal with the villagers, you will definitely be criticized for being bloodthirsty and cruel."
Fang Yun said calmly: "If you can rescue those innocent women and children in prison, if you can scare those human traffickers, if you can reduce the number of broken families, if you have to give comments, give more important comments!"
The Grand Secretary of the Criminal Court, who had been following but remained silent, finally spoke up: "Fang Xusheng, you may not have considered one thing. When trafficking is punishable by death, once the traffickers find out that they might be caught, they will probably kill people to destroy the evidence. Moreover, during the Three Kingdoms period, wars were frequent and people were living in poverty. Severe punishments were used in various places and people were killed like flies. As a result, some people still took the risk and killed people for money."
Fang Yun said: "Grandmaster Ren's example of the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty seems to be reasonable, but he forgot that the reason they took risks was not because they were not afraid of the death penalty, but because they could not survive! Once they could survive, have enough food and clothing, and live in a safe place with their families, they would definitely not take risks, and most people would not kill and rob. Does what I said make sense?"
"What Fang Xusheng said is very true. I am sorry for being rude." Grand Secretary Ren agreed.
“As for the claim that human traffickers are afraid of the death penalty and therefore destroy evidence, this actually proves one thing: human traffickers are afraid of death! Even if they are not afraid of death and do not want to die, the death penalty is a deterrent to them! Since it is a deterrent, the death penalty can effectively reduce the occurrence of human trafficking!”
"Fang Xusheng has a unique perspective on the issue, which makes a lot of sense." Not only did Ren Daxueshi not refute, but he listened attentively.
"As far as I know, there are two factors that deter criminals. The first is naturally the severity of the punishment. The heavier the punishment, the more deterrent it is. Many legalists believe that when the punishment is severe enough, whether it is imprisonment for twenty years or the death penalty, the deterrent effect on people is the same. Therefore, for the sake of benevolence, the death penalty can be avoided. But in fact, if we change to imprisonment instead of the death penalty, it will cost more manpower and material resources. Is this true?"
"What you said is true." said Grand Secretary Ren.
Fang Yun said, "Then, this involves the second factor of deterring criminals, the crime clearance rate! Trafficking is done by migrant populations. It is difficult to find clues after kidnapping someone, so the crime clearance rate is much lower than that of murder. Many human traffickers think they will not be caught, so they are more rampant. To increase the crime clearance rate, more manpower and material resources are needed. Therefore, the Legalists believe that instead of using the death penalty to deter, it is better to use an increase in the crime clearance rate to deter. Am I right?"
Ren Daxueshi nodded, vaguely understanding whether Fang Yun was going to persuade him next.
Fang Yun said: "Then, the result is obvious. For the court, it is more feasible to sentence serious criminals to death, and then use the manpower and material resources originally used to imprison criminals to improve the rate of solving cases. Therefore, from a practical point of view, the death penalty is the best option."
"But, killing is against humanity after all. He killed someone, but we sentenced him to death. How is that any different from him?"
"Of course there is a difference! What if there is no difference between the two types of killing? Is there a concept of self-defense in the law? Is there a difference between killing and being forced to kill, both of which are killing? Is there a difference in the punishment for manslaughter and murder? Is there a difference between killing one person and killing many people? If you are a normal person, who would think that punishing criminals is a crime? Only murderers and people who think they might kill people would stand in the criminal's perspective, right? If there is no difference, criminals should not be punished after hurting others, because this is also hurting the criminals!"
Academician Ren was speechless.
"So, all the human traffickers here should be killed!" Fang Yun looked at the villagers of Changxi Village.
Many people in Changxi Village had fierce looks on their faces.
"You said that? Say it again, and see how it goes? A child who hasn't even fully grown his hair yet, who wrote a few crappy poems, dares to come to our Changxi Village and act wildly. Do you think there is no one in our Changxi Village?" Wucuo Novel Network does not skip words. A middle-aged fierce woman holding a kitchen knife glared at Fang Yun, not caring about Fang Yun's identity at all.
"Who is the human trafficker? How come I didn't see him? If you dare to slander us again, thousands of us will go to the capital to file a complaint! If the capital doesn't care, we will go to the Holy Court to file a complaint! False Saint? Come back when you become a True Saint!"
"Don't you see where this is?"
"The scholars in the village say how powerful you are. Haha, no matter how powerful you are, do you dare to kill us, the people of Jing Kingdom? What can a county magistrate do to us?"
Among the villagers of Changxi, the most illiterate ones shouted the loudest, and the more they looked at the well-read people, the less they dared to speak, and only stood at the end of the crowd. The faces of those educated people were gloomy, as if they knew that they could not persuade the villagers, and could only watch.
When those people had cursed enough, the village chief Diao Zhili snorted, stretched out his arm, and everyone stopped.
Diao Zhili said, "County Magistrate Fang, you have seen that we are all good people in Changxi Village. We may have made some small mistakes due to the pressure of life, but this is a no-man's land. The previous county magistrates turned a blind eye and let it go. As for those county magistrates who don't want to close their eyes, they have to close their eyes in the end! We Changxi villagers have always been well-educated and reasonable, so if County Magistrate Fang returns the same way, we will pretend that what happened today never happened. If you continue to force us, it will be reported in a few days that you forced the people to death. Fellow villagers, don't you agree?"
"Yes!" Nearly a thousand people shouted in unison, the sound shaking the sky.
There were even some little kids screaming with excitement. Their eyes were extremely clear, and they didn't know what was good or evil.
Fang Yun's emotions did not fluctuate at all, and his eyes remained cold.
"Unfortunately, I like to keep both eyes open and see the world clearly!" Fang Yun said.
"It seems that County Magistrate Fang wants to kill all of us in Changxi Village!" said Diao Zhili.
Fang Yun ignored Diao Zhili, glanced at everyone and asked: "There should be scholars and students in the village, but how do you read the books of the saints? Aren't you afraid that the literary palace will be broken? Aren't you afraid that the path to the saints will be cut off? "
Fang Yun always used his tongue to burst into spring thunder, and his voice was full of supreme majesty, as if he was the Emperor of Thunder, with both kindness and power.
A student quickly responded: "Fang Xu, your Majesty, I have been trying to persuade the villagers, but unfortunately my words are not taken seriously..."
"Shut up!" Village chief Diao shouted, scaring the boy so much that he had to shut his mouth.
Fang Yun looked at everyone and said, "No one surrenders?"
Nearly a thousand villagers looked at Fang Yun with different expressions, but no one dared to surrender.
"Then, who dares to admit to killing the two police officers and Wang Xiaocui?" Fang Yun asked again.
No one answered.
"Then..." Fang Yun pointed to the underground tunnel, "Who knows how many innocent people are abducted to Changxi Village every year?"
Still no one answered.
"So, how many good people are killed every year in Changxi Village?"
Some villagers looked ashamed.
The private soldiers behind Fang Yun breathed heavier because of anger, and some Demon Iron Knights even experienced great emotional fluctuations, causing their armor to make slight noises and become one.
"Yes, coming to Changxi Village has broadened my horizons. I didn't expect that such a kind place ruled by a saint would be inhabited by a group of beasts that look like humans." Fang Yun's voice became a little more sinister.
"You fart!" one person yelled, and then everyone started yelling.
Fang Yun pointed at the whole village and spoke in a thunderous voice.
"You dare to kill an unarmed woman, and I am standing right here. Do you dare to come and kill me? You don't dare! Every one of you in Changxi Village is a beast worse than pigs and dogs! You are all useless people who bully the weak and fear the strong! Shengyuan Continent is full of vitality. As long as you work a little harder, you will have no worries about food and clothing. What about you? Besides earning bloody money by harming others, what else have you done? You are the most incompetent scum, worse than maggots!"
The people of Changxi Village wanted to refute, but Fang Yun did not give them any chance and continued to speak out.
"The people of Liangjie Mountain are defending with their lives, the people of Zhenyuhai are killing monsters with their blood, and the warriors in the north are fighting for their lives to kill the barbarians. We are willing to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the human race, but what are you beasts doing? You are using the peace that we bought with our blood and lives to harm the human race! You. Don't deserve to be human!"
"It would be fine if it was just one person, or a group of people, but now the whole village is helping the evildoers. If they harbor such filth, then there is no need for this village to exist! The evil here must end! The bloodline of evil must not continue!"
"This is the last order from this county. You are given a hundred seconds to put down your weapons, kneel on the ground, and surrender! Otherwise, you will be killed on the spot for colluding with the demons and barbarians to bring disaster to the human race!"
Village Chief Diao's hair and beard stood up, and he shouted, "How dare you! Even if we ask you to kill him now, you won't dare to do it!"
The villagers of Changxi cursed together, but many people showed fear in their eyes, because Fang Yun was too firm, which was fundamentally different from those incompetent county officials.
"Form a battle formation!" Fang Yun gave an order, and two thousand demon cavalrymen and hundreds of demon private soldiers slowly moved forward and formed a charge formation.
Four Niu Manhou, more than ten feet tall, stood in the front, looking down at the villagers like four little giants.
"Bang..." The sound of weapons falling to the ground was heard.
"Pick it up! This is Changxi Village, not a place where a county magistrate can act recklessly! Whoever dares to betray the village at this time, I will let him taste the power of Diao's water prison!" Village Chief Diao said sternly.
Many villagers' faces changed and they clenched their weapons.
Regardless of age, male or female, everyone was frightened by the Diao family water dungeon.
Village chief Diao stared at Fang Yun like a hungry wolf and continued loudly: "Don't be afraid! Haven't I seen storms and waves? He is just a young boy. If he dares to touch our village, his future will be over!" Village chief Diao loudly encouraged the villagers.
Many villagers nodded vigorously and some even agreed with Village Chief Diao. Many young and strong men had bloodthirsty eyes. Almost all of them had killed people and abused abducted women. Some of them had even been robbers.
"What a pity, you never understand that I am not a bureaucrat." Fang Yun said in a low voice, not knowing whether he was talking to himself or to the official behind him.
Fang Yun said this and slowly raised his right arm.
"Time is up."
The villagers of Changxi finally became truly frightened, but they still held on.
"Rituals cannot be stopped because of a thousand people! Laws cannot be abolished because of a village! Punish!"
Fang Yun's raised arm dropped.
The demon private soldiers and the demon iron cavalry charged forward like tigers descending from the mountains.
"Don't kill the village chief. Wait until he has had enough of the torture in the Diao family's water dungeon before you torture him to death!"
While Fang Yun was speaking, the sounds of horse hooves trampling, bones breaking, weapons cutting, cloth tearing, villagers begging for mercy and cursing, etc. seemed to form a majestic war song, passionate, sonorous and powerful!
"Three thousand soldiers, listen up. Each team will send half of its soldiers to enter Changxi Village to search and rescue the prisoners. The rest will continue. If anyone escapes, kill them without mercy!"
Bloodstained Night.
(To be continued…)