Fang Yun slammed the gavel and said, "Come here, take the criminal Gong Wu to the death row and keep him under surveillance day and night to prevent him from committing suicide! I will send a letter to the three judicial departments and the Criminal Court to speed up the review of this verdict and have him executed by slow slicing in Ning'an County as soon as possible to warn the people that killing one's closest relatives is an unforgivable crime!"
"Your Excellency is wise!" Yu Bachi let out a long sigh of anger and personally led people to take Manager Gong away.
"No, I don't accept it! I want to appeal..."
"I'll sue your mother!" Yu Bachi punched Manager Gong on the temple, knocking him unconscious, and asked the officers to drag Manager Gong away.
Some officials couldn't help rolling their eyes, but no one stopped them.
"Pooh!"
"Pooh!"
No one knew who started it, but people on both sides began spitting at Manager Gong.
Fang Yun calmed down and said in a normal tone: "Family, based on blood and bonded by affection, should be the most basic and stable group in the world. If the blood is gone or the affection is no longer there, the family may be dissolved. However, before the family is dissolved, every member should protect the family. Otherwise, morality will be corrupted, human relations will collapse, and the human race will no longer exist! Relatives should hide the truth from each other. If they are not relatives, what should be done? If relatives harm relatives, what should be done? Murdering a close relative is a third-level crime! By extension, those who murder lovers, relatives and friends should be severely sentenced, and should not use affection as an excuse to give a light sentence! If the affection is real, then fulfill that affection and let the person die to atone for his crime. If the affection is false, then he deserves to die!"
"Your Excellency is truly kind, affectionate and righteous!" County Magistrate Tao bowed.
"To murder a close relative is to commit a third level of crime. This is the true fusion of propriety and law!" The Hanlin of the Criminal Hall nodded in agreement.
The eldest brother of the shopkeeper Gong stood up, wiped his tears, and said, "I don't understand the truth. Out of brotherhood, I should speak for him, but... Your Excellency is right. Killing someone means paying with one's life. It is only natural! What's more, it is the life of a close relative."
"Yes, life for life, that's only right!"
Fang Yun looked at Ji Zhibai and said, "Laws are nothing more than human feelings. It is reasonable to reduce the sentence for good deeds and increase the sentence for evil deeds. The thug played with the cow and hurt himself. He had no good intentions. Why did he harm the victim to fulfill his evil deeds? The thug killed his wife for a very evil reason. Why did he give a light sentence by pretending to be a good person? Ji Zhibai, I am very disappointed!"
“You…” Ji Zhibai Wengong’s courage was shaken violently, and he did not dare to refute.
Fang Yun bowed his hands towards the sky and said, "The saints ruled the world, gave you talent, the country brought peace to the people, and gave you an official position. As a top scholar, you violated the etiquette and laws. You reversed benevolence and righteousness, did not distinguish right from wrong, did not know how to clean up, and were ignorant and incompetent. You misled the people and the country! I will immediately ask the three judicial departments and the criminal court to take away your official position and confer you a civil title! As for the sale of the workshop for personal gain at the expense of the public, I will settle accounts with you one by one!"
"Fang Yun you... wow..."
Ji Zhibai suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He took a step forward, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, his eyes filled with hatred. His anger seemed to be able to burn the whole world, but the next moment he turned around and ran away like a frightened bird.
"Click..."
The penis is cracked.
“Puff…” Ji Zhibai once again sprayed out blood mist, closed his eyes, and fell to the ground.
"Master Ji!"
"master!"
Ji Zhibai's followers and subordinates rushed forward and helped Ji Zhibai up.
Fang Yun sat high up on the seat, looking down, and said, "Please ask the doctor in the medical hall to treat the chief case. After he recovers, he will continue to cooperate with me in the trial! The court is adjourned!"
Fang Yun slammed the gavel and left the court.
Ji Zhibai pretended to be sick and did not go out for many days, and he never cooperated with Fang Yun in the investigation of the case.
On the third day of August, Gong Wu was executed by slow slicing in Ning'an County. Tens of thousands of people watched, causing a sensation.
On the seventh day of August, Fang Yun began a comprehensive investigation into the case of the workshop being sold at a low price. Subsequently, documents that shocked the people were disclosed one after another.
The Xingyuan Workshop, which was worth thirty thousand taels, was sold for three thousand taels.
In Pingming Workshop, the original owner did not have to pay a penny. The owner who was in charge of management became the owner of the workshop and only needed to pay a part of the income in the next few years.
The Changmian Workshop was sold to the owner, who did not pay a penny. He pawned his office and the property deed, and got a sum of money out of thin air to buy the workshop.
The Iron Works, valued at the price it was built at twenty years ago, had more liabilities than assets, and was given to a prominent family for free.
Beiliang Workshop…
Many workshops were sold during Ji Zhibai's tenure under various "clever" means under the slogan of serving the country and the people. There was no supervision and no accountability. Those workshop owners who had messed up the workshops were able to easily revive them after acquiring them and make huge profits, which became Ji Zhibai's political achievement.
After seeing those shocking documents, the people of Ning'an County realized that Ji Zhibai's frequent eloquence last year about dealing with corrupt officials and reforming Ning'an with a determination to die were nothing but words of a bureaucrat to deceive the people.
With less than a year until the palace examination, Ji Zhibai could not possibly care about long-term development, so he was eager for quick success and instant benefits. He bribed the officials and nobles of Ning'an County by selling the county's workshops, eliminating all the hidden dangers in the palace examination and leaving his name in Ning'an County.
Almost on the day when Fang Yun announced these documents, neutral officials from all over Jing State, including the so-called Qingliu Censors, suddenly launched a frenzied attack and impeachment against Fang Yun, saying that Fang Yun should not have notified the entire county of these documents, and that he was bringing disaster to the government and creating civil unrest.
How can the people be informed of what the bureaucrats do!
Many officials were extremely angry.
The left prime minister and his important officials, however, sat back and did not take any action, because they knew that Fang Yun could only influence one county. Most of the people in Jing country and even the human race would not and could not understand what the bureaucrats had done. They would only be deceived by those bureaucrats who were good at flattery or even acting. Unless they really could not survive, they would never take any action.
The bureaucrats have an unspoken consensus that they can do whatever they want as long as they can ensure that the people do not rebel.
On the tenth day of August, the matter was reported in the "Wen Bao", but the content submitted by Fang Yun was greatly deleted, leaving only the words that Fang Yun had made great contributions to the governance of Ning'an and severely punished Ji Zhibai, without any details about the detailed process of the workshops being sold at a low price.
After people from all over Shengyuan Continent praised Fang Yun, they put these matters behind them.
In Ning'an County, Fang Yun still insisted on "benign reform", while in various parts of the human race, "vicious reform" was always going on silently, and the bureaucrats and the gentry continued to erode the wealth belonging to the country.
On August 12, the Criminal Court and the Three Judicial Departments jointly issued a document, dismissing Ji Zhibai from his official position on the grounds of malfeasance, selling state-owned workshops at a low price and other crimes. He was banned from serving as an official for life and was also prohibited from entering the Holy Academy and the Hanlin Hall.
On that day, Ji Zhi knew that Bai Wen's gallbladder was shattered, and he vomited blood and fainted.
On August 15th, which should have been the night of Mid-Autumn Festival when families reunited, Ji Zhibai sat alone in the ox cart, staring at the full moon outside the window in a daze.
The moonlight is cold, and Ji Zhibai's heart is even colder.
"Master, we have arrived at the north gate of the capital."
"Um."
Ji Zhibai agreed casually, and suddenly his vision became blurry, and Fang Yun's face seemed to appear above the full moon.
Ji Zhibai clenched his fists, tears welled up in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Fang Yun, you broke my literary courage today, and September will be the time when you will despair! I will be in the capital, waiting for the end of your palace examination, and listening to the sound of your literary courage being shattered!"
Suddenly, a voice came from outside the door: "Is that Mr. Ji in the car?" (To be continued...)