When the Jian Yi entered the pass, Grand Scholar Qian Qianyi put on a show of "water too cold, scalp itchy," happily welcoming the holy monarch, beating gongs and drums as he shaved his queue. Now, it was Master Qian's turn, and he naturally inherited Grand Scholar Qian Qianyi's ability to read the wind and change his sails. Seeing that the situation was not good, Master Qian directly and decisively admitted all his crimes.
And Master Li, a descendant of the Donglin gentlemen, and Master Zhang, a descendant of the backbone of the Fu She, were not to be outdone, and immediately and decisively admitted their crimes.
Of course, the main reason Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang admitted their guilt so readily was that Liu Er Bo and Steward Qian had pushed all the responsibility onto Great Benefactor Liu. Compared to that, the crimes of Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang were much smaller.
If Great Benefactor Liu had not been put forward, Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang would never have dared to admit it so readily.
One had to know that the crimes committed by Great Benefactor Liu were enough to have his entire family exterminated, and even extend to his nine generations of relatives. As for Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang, they might only have to die themselves.
This was equivalent to a very simple multiple-choice question. Option one was to actively admit mistakes and, in the process, "hammer" Great Benefactor Liu to death, resulting in only one person dying. Even if the rest of his family suffered misfortune, they would not all perish. Option two was to perish along with Great Benefactor Liu, with their entire families exterminated or even extending to their nine generations of relatives.
After Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang had all admitted their crimes and stated that Liu Er Bo and Steward Qian had not spoken nonsense, and that all the matters had been instigated by Great Benefactor Liu, Great Benefactor Liu, who had already collapsed on the ground, was completely desperate.
Jiang Xin Long felt great satisfaction in his heart. He sneered and looked at Great Benefactor Liu, saying, "Great Benefactor Liu, do you have anything else to say?"
Before Great Benefactor Liu could answer, Jiang Xin Long looked at the crowd of onlookers and said, "My fellow villagers, you have all witnessed and heard everything at today's public trial of Great Benefactor Liu."
"Neither the prefect's yamen, nor the patrol censor's yamen, nor the supervising censor's yamen, nor the Farmers' Association, nor the Embroidered Uniform Guard used even a shred of torture on you, Great Benefactor Liu, nor did they smear your name."
"All the matters, one by one, were things that Great Benefactor Liu had done. Not only can Liu Er Bo and Steward Qian testify, but even Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang are willing to serve as witnesses."
"I don't think any lord would be willing to risk their lives and livelihoods to cooperate with the government in such a play, would they?"
After Jiang Xin Long finished speaking, the surrounding crowd of onlookers could not help but nod.
Indeed, Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang could all be considered figures of some standing. If they were asked how they cheated and defrauded, and how they siphoned benefits into their own homes, the common people would not doubt it at all. However, if they were to be asked that they would rather lose their own lives to cooperate with the government in a play, just to kill Great Benefactor Liu's family, not a single person among the common people would believe it.
Jiang Xin Long continued to say to Great Benefactor Liu, "Now that the matter is clear and the evidence is conclusive, Great Benefactor Liu, do you plead guilty or not guilty?"
Great Benefactor Liu suddenly let out a laugh and said, "What if I plead guilty? What if I don't plead guilty? In the end, it's up to you officials. If you say I, Liu, am guilty, then I, Liu, am guilty."
This time, not only were Jiang Xin Long and the other officials stunned, but even the onlookers were shocked.
At this point, Great Benefactor Liu still believed that he was not guilty and that all the charges were imposed by the government?
After a long pause, the surrounding onlookers could no longer contain themselves. Especially the merchant who had been explaining Great Benefactor Liu's evil deeds to the crowd, he directly took out a few copper coins from his pocket and hurled them at Great Benefactor Liu, shouting, "I curse your mother! How can you, a dog, still have the face to spout nonsense here!"
After this merchant took the lead in throwing things, the surrounding onlookers also threw what they had in their hands at Great Benefactor Liu.
Of course, no one threw rotten vegetables and eggs at Great Benefactor Liu like in movies and TV shows. After all, these were things that had been bought with money, and the common people were reluctant to throw them at Great Benefactor Liu.
Therefore, these common people used clods of earth and small stones picked up from the ground – Which would hurt more, being hit by clods of earth and small stones, or by Great Benefactor Liu? Answer: Great Benefactor Liu would hurt more.
Especially those oddly shaped small stones, some of which might have sharp edges, making it very easy to break someone's scalp.
As for the yamen runners who were supposed to stop the common people, they were all natives of Songjiang Prefecture. They already hated Great Benefactor Liu to the core, so why would they stop the common people at this time?
Therefore, Great Benefactor Liu was quickly beaten to screams of agony, and his body was covered in bruises.
It was not until Great Benefactor Liu was beaten until his head was bleeding that Jiang Xin Long, the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, patted the court board and shouted, "Quiet! Quiet!"
After the crowd of onlookers gradually quieted down, Jiang Xin Long looked at Great Benefactor Liu and said, "Great Benefactor Liu, have you seen it all?"
"You opened the Child Raising Hall and sent those children to the Jian Yi's Nian Gan Chu (a secret service organization), and you opened opium dens to harm the people of Songjiang Prefecture, and now you are publishing a gossip newspaper to slander the Emperor and the court, and to discuss state affairs. Can all these evil deeds be escaped just because you refuse to admit them?"
Speaking of this, Jiang Xin Long turned his head and had a low discussion with the officials from the patrol censor's yamen, the supervising censor's yamen, the Farmers' Association, and the Ministry of Justice. Then he said to Great Benefactor Liu, "Now, the supervising censor's yamen will announce the crimes of you, Great Benefactor Liu, and others."
An official from the supervising censor's yamen stood up, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "Criminal Liu Xin, for serving the Jian Yi's Nian Gan Chu and colluding with the Ottomans later, as well as opening opium dens to harm the people and privately operating newspapers to slander the sages, the facts are clear and the evidence is conclusive. According to the Great Ming Law, Liu Xin is to be executed along with his three generations of relatives. In addition, within three generations of his nine generations of relatives, they are not allowed to hold office, join the army, or become teachers."
"Criminal Qian Zhili, Li Jingzu, Zhang Chengzong, for privately operating newspapers, slandering the sages, and discussing state affairs, the facts are clear and the evidence is conclusive. According to the Great Ming Law, Qian Zhili, Li Jingzu, and Zhang Jingzong are to be executed along with their families. In addition, within three generations of their three generations of relatives, they are not allowed to hold office, join the army, or become teachers."
"According to the Great Ming Law, all the files of this case will be sealed and sent to the capital, and submitted to the Supervising Censorate and the Ministry of Justice for review. Execution will proceed after approval."
After the sentencing, the supervising censor looked at Great Benefactor Liu and Masters Qian, Li, and Zhang, and said loudly, "The sentencing is complete. Do you four have any objections? If not, you may apply for a review after the case is closed."
"There are two opportunities for review. The first review will be conducted by the Supervising Censorate in the capital. If you still have objections, you may apply for a second review, at which time the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, the Supervising Censorate, and the Censorate Office will conduct a joint review."
"Have you all heard clearly? Do you have any objections?"
After the supervising censor finished speaking, Masters Qian, Li, and Zhang exchanged glances and replied decisively, "Reporting to Your Excellency, we know that we deserve to die and admit our guilt. We do not wish to apply for a review."
Who was stupid? Great Benefactor Liu's entire family, and even his three generations of relatives, were going to be wiped out, and his nine generations of relatives were also implicated. As for themselves, it was only the extermination of their clan – the death of their entire family. Their clan could still be preserved, and only three generations of their relatives within three generations were not allowed to hold office, join the army, or become teachers. Compared to Great Benefactor Liu's punishment, it was already much lighter. What more could they be dissatisfied with?
Moreover, the so-called opportunity to apply for a review, this kind of thing might be a good thing for those commoners, but it was by no means a good thing for the gentry and scholars. What if the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple felt that the punishment was too light and increased it? Wouldn't that be completely finished?
It was precisely because of this that Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang readily admitted their guilt and stated that they would not apply for a review.
This way, all the pressure was placed on Liu Xin, Great Benefactor Liu.
If Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang had also stubbornly refused to plead guilty, then the public trial today would have been considered settled. Even if the verdict could not be overturned later, at least he would have had a chance to drag things out.
Every day lived was a gain.
However, these three bastards, Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang, readily admitted to the crime of their entire families being wiped out. If he were to apply for a review again, wouldn't it appear that he was "ignorant"?
As the saying goes, put yourself in their shoes. Great Benefactor Liu felt that if he were an official of the Dali Temple or the Ministry of Justice, and he encountered such an "ignorant" troublemaker, he would definitely increase the punishment. As for those who were more sensible, like Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang, they might even reduce the penalty slightly.
In this way, wouldn't applying for a review be equivalent to causing trouble for himself and also benefiting those three bastards?
Thinking of this, Great Benefactor Liu simply decided that if he couldn't do well, he would definitely not let Master Qian, Master Li, and Master Zhang do well either. He admitted all the crimes and also stated that he would not apply for a review.
This time, it was the turn of Masters Qian, Li, and Zhang to be stunned. In fact, Masters Qian and the other two readily admitted their guilt, precisely because they thought that since Great Benefactor Liu's crimes were the most serious, perhaps he would apply for a review...
In any case, these famous gentry and scholars of Songjiang Prefecture were all not good people, and they were all scheming against each other.
However, the scheming between Great Benefactor Liu and Masters Qian and the others was interpreted differently by the onlookers.
Look, the government did not use torture, nor did they use even a shred of punishment. They completely refuted Great Benefactor Liu and Masters Qian by listing the evidence of their crimes. And Great Benefactor Liu and Masters Qian also successively admitted their guilt, what did this show?
This showed that the crimes of Great Benefactor Liu and the others were real! They deserved to die!
And since Great Benefactor Liu and the others deserved to die, it naturally meant that the things they slandered the Emperor and the court with were all fake, and were just meant to fool the common people!
Thinking of this, the onlookers immediately picked up small stones or clods of earth from the ground and once again hurled them at Great Benefactor Liu and the others.
And Great Benefactor Liu was indeed a tough guy.
Even though his face was bleeding from being hit, Great Benefactor Liu still sneered at Masters Qian, Li, and Zhang and said, "You want me to apply for a review so that you can benefit from it? Dream on! I'm unlucky, and you guys have to accompany me!"
However, to Great Benefactor Liu's surprise, Masters Qian, Li, and Zhang completely ignored his nonsense.
On the contrary, all three of them wore looks of mockery towards Great Benefactor Liu. Although everyone was going to die, their families would only lose one generation, while Great Benefactor Liu's family would lose three generations of relatives. Who was more unlucky?
Moreover, although Great Benefactor Liu had gained some influence when the Jian Yi were in power, he was, after all, a latecomer. He was not originally from the gentry circle, and how could a latecomer like Great Benefactor Liu understand the ways of many gentry and scholars?
Take, for example, the extermination of the clan.
Similarly, it was the extermination of the clan. Great Benefactor Liu's clan extermination was a real death of his entire family. However, for established gentry and scholars like Master Qian, it was only the apparent death of his entire family. As gentry and scholars, who didn't have an illegitimate child?
Thinking that his own family still had a "village fire" (a reference to preserved lineage), while Great Benefactor Liu's family was completely finished, Masters Qian felt somewhat better. Master Li even had the mood to mock Great Benefactor Liu, saying, "I heard that Great Benefactor Liu is learned in ancient and modern times, so his calculations must also be excellent. He must be able to calculate the difference between one generation and three generations of relatives?"
Master Zhang added, "Not just one generation and three generations of relatives, but if we include the relatives who were implicated and not allowed to hold office or join the army, then the difference between three generations of relatives and nine generations of relatives is also very large!"
Of course, Jiang Xin Long and the other officials sitting on the public trial platform did not understand the ways of these gentry and scholars. After all, they had only slowly risen after rebelling with Zhu Jinsong. In terms of foundation, they were indeed no match for these established gentry and scholars.
However, Guan Bu, a hundred-household officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was also sitting on the public trial platform, was smiling and watching Great Benefactor Liu and Masters Qian and the others like dogs fighting each other. In terms of long inheritance, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which had been inherited since the Hongwu era, had a much deeper foundation than the Li family, which began to prosper in the Wanli era, the Qian family, which began to prosper in the Tianqi era, and the Zhang family.
Although the foundation and the foundation were not the same thing, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which had been passed down for hundreds of years, was very clear about the ways of these gentry and scholars.
As long as the Embroidered Uniform Guard was willing, it was very easy to find the illegitimate children that Master Qian had secretly left outside, and then completely eradicate them.
Whether or not to do so all depended on what the Emperor of the Great Ming, who was far away in the capital, thought.