"This case is handed over to me for trial!" Fang Yun said, and then he used his literary power to isolate himself from the outside world. He looked at Yu Ba Chi and asked, "What happened to those who confessed?"
Yu Ba Chi immediately said, "I have isolated them from the outside world. The people guarding them are all people I value. I have asked them not to let outsiders have contact with them."
"Good! You did a great job. It would be a waste of your talent to let you be a Dianshi. After you work hard for a while, you can be promoted to a Zhuli." Fang Yun said.
Yu Ba Chi was stunned for a moment, and whispered, "I think the position of Dianshi can better play my role."
Fang Yun thought for a moment and nodded, "Then you will continue to be the Dianshi. In a few days, I will propose a reform of the civil service system and raise the rank of Dianshi to the same level as Zhubu."
"Ah?" Yu Bachi looked at Fang Yun in surprise, thinking that Fang Yun did that for him.
Fang Yun smiled slightly and ended the trial of the plague case. He only needed to wait for the Criminal Palace to issue a document to execute the verdict. However, asking the Criminal Palace to add a crime involves many aspects. Generally, it can only be decided at the Criminal Palace meeting once every five years. The whole process of temporarily adding a crime may take more than ten days or even a month.
Afterwards, Fang Yun ordered everyone to leave and began the secret interrogation, so that only the two Legalist aides, as well as the legal advisors Fang Yingwu and Yu Bachi, were left in the hall. The rest of the yamen runners all left, and except for the old Hanlin, no one was allowed to listen outside the door.
Afterwards, Fang Yun sat in a chair, closed his eyes, and recalled the case.
At that time, he felt that the verdict of the case was a bit hasty, because it was just a file and he had not personally experienced the trial, so he could not see any clues. After learning about this incident today, he recalled the contents of the case file again and found many doubts.
Although Yu Bashi interrogated the four suspects today, they did not confess. It was only revealed by others, but the person who revealed it was based on what one of them said after drinking. It is difficult to use it as direct evidence.
One of the four men must confess in order to be convicted.
For this kind of thing, the "prisoner's dilemma" has been studied very thoroughly, so Fang Yun directly asked the bailiffs to bring the four people to court.
In Shengyuan Continent, people basically don't kneel when meeting an official, so the four of them just stood there.
After the bailiffs left, Fang Yun used the power of the official seal to seal the courtroom, slammed the gavel, and said, "You are all well aware of the crimes you have committed. This county will give you one last chance. The first person to confess will be the informant and sentenced to three years of hard labor. The second person to confess will be the informer and sentenced to five years of exile. The third person to confess will be sentenced to ten years, and the last person to confess will be sent to the death row camp!"
The four of them shuddered in unison, frightened by the words "death row camp".
Some prisoners sentenced to more than twenty years in prison are often sent to the death row camps of various armies. Once a battle occurs and a large number of people need to be sacrificed, these death row camps will inevitably be dispatched for consumption.
No one ever came back alive from death row.
“Who confessed in public?”
After Fang Yun asked, the four people looked at each other. One of them had a very fierce look, and the other three would quickly avoid him after looking at him.
The four people were silent.
Fang Yun had known this would be the result, so he quickly released the Legalist Code, which emitted a strange light. The Legalist power that formed the "Trial in Separate Courts" emitted a cone of white light, covering the four people respectively.
The world in front of everyone's eyes changed, and no one could see their companions. All they could see was an empty lobby, and Fang Yun was sitting behind a desk, staring at his prey like a predatory eagle.
Fang Yun tried four people at the same time.
The first person was the one with the fierce look in his eyes. No matter how Fang Yun spoke, he remained silent.
At the same time, Fang Yun interrogated the second person.
"Qi Junshan, I want to ask you, where were you on the night of the third day of the seventh lunar month last year?"
Qi Junshan was a sturdy young man wearing a short shirt and with brown skin. He was trembling with fear all the time. When he heard "the third day of July", he could no longer suppress the panic in his heart. The power of official authority hit him so hard that his mind went blank. His knees softened and he knelt on the ground.
"Sir... I... If I confess, will I really get a light sentence?"
Fang Yun nodded and said, "This county is absolutely not lying!"
"Then I confess! It was Gou from the Gou family who hired the four of us to kill that man. As for the reason, my elder brother didn't tell us. But after hearing some things later, I vaguely figured it out. It turned out that the wife of the Gou family had an affair with a cowherd from a brothel and gave birth to Gou. But the cowherd also had an older son, who was the workshop worker."
Fang Yun frowned slightly. He naturally knew that the "Cowherd" this person was talking about was not the Cowherd of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, but a man who sold his body, commonly known as a duck.
"I don't know how, but the eldest son of the cowherd, who was also a workshop worker, got to know Mr. Gou. According to my guess, the workshop worker knew Mr. Gou's identity, so he used this secret to blackmail him. At first, Mr. Gou just gave money, but the cowherd's son's appetite grew bigger and bigger. Mr. Gou finally couldn't bear it anymore and asked my eldest brother to kill him with us."
Fang Yun said: "Ji Zhibai sentenced an innocent workshop worker as a murderer. Is he good friends with Mr. Gou?"
Qi Junshan shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I can guess that Mr. Gou must have given Ji Zhibai a big benefit, or he used some special means."
"Do you know the whereabouts of that innocent man? I have not found any documents related to him." Fang Yun asked.
"He... died on the way to exile." Qi Junshan showed a look of horror. If Fang Yun had not broken the myth that the Left Prime Minister had all-powerful power in Mizhou, he would never have dared to tell anyone about this matter related to Ji Zhibai.
Fang Yun nodded slightly. It was just as he had guessed. Master Gou first killed Niulang's son and then pushed the blame onto an innocent person, forcing the innocent person to confess, and finally killed him.
Fang Yun said: "Why didn't Master Gou get rid of you?"
"That... that's because my eldest brother was Mr. Gou's playmate in the academy. His father was once saved by Mr. Gou and he helped Mr. Gou do many dirty jobs. He would never betray Mr. Gou." Qi Junshan said at the end, with dissatisfaction in his tone.
"Oh? Why did you give up your elder brother so readily?" Fang Yun noticed keenly.
"Oh, big brother? We regard him as the big brother, but he doesn't regard us as brothers! How many benefits did Mr. Gou give him, but what about us? We only got a drizzle, and the three of us combined didn't get more than one-tenth of what he got. This is nothing. When the three of us discussed privately, we found out that the big brother had murderous intentions towards the three of us. If we hadn't been careful and on guard and kept our mouths shut, we would have been killed long ago!" Qi Junshan said to the end, not hiding his anger at all.
"I see. Very good! You were the first to expose the suspect, so you have made the greatest contribution! However, you must confess everything you and your elder brother have done. As long as you explain clearly, I will only sentence you to three years. If you behave well, you can move freely in Ning'an City after one year."
Qi Junshan was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, sir! Don't worry, I will tell you everything! My elder brother..."
Not only did Qi Junshan confess, but the other two confessed as well. The testimonies of the three corroborated each other, and even if their eldest brother didn't speak, it would have been ironclad evidence.
"Very good! When Ji Zhibai and Gou Gongzi arrive, do you dare to confront them?"
Qi Junshan shouted, "Dare!"
.(To be continued..)