The Silent Reforms of Eldridge Chapter 10

Guo Sizong knew in his heart that his daughter committed suicide, so there was no sentence in his accusation that concluded that his daughter was killed. He only raised many questions. Even if the truth comes out in the future, he can still say, I did not accuse my daughter of being murdered. Kill him---a real lawyer's trick!

In this way, the case dragged on for several years, and some of the criminals and prisoners involved in the case died in the province. Wang Juren, who helped report the case, was even more unjust. Because he was involved in the case, he was unable to participate in the examination twice in a row. Every time he was arraigned, Guo Sizong would support his seventy-year-old mother to contradict him in court. If the interrogating officer made a slight gesture, Guo's mother would fight for her life and death. Therefore, no one dared to take the case, and Taiyuan Magistrate Vernon Wang could only Put it on the shelf.

Although I was only temporarily acting for the Taiyuan magistrate, I still felt that it was not a problem for this case to be delayed for a long time, so I sent alternate county magistrate Jin Tingyu to take over the case and I personally supervised the case. During the first court appearance, I enlightened Guo Sizong: You are the father of the deceased, and it is natural to want to avenge the deceased and bring peace of mind to the living. However, your mother is old and in poor health. You are a scholar, so why bother to drag your mother down? I think it would be better to send your daughter back to the capital first and let your wife take care of her while you stay here and concentrate on fighting this lawsuit. Moreover, your mother does not know many details in your accusation. It would not be good if the answer is different from what you said. "Guo Sizong quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude and asked me to allow him to take leave to send his mother home. The scribe asked to send an officer to escort him - they were worried that he would abscond and not return. I told Guo Sizong: "I will give you half a month's leave. Send your mother home. The government did not send anyone to escort him. If you fail to return after the deadline, you will admit that you are in the wrong, and I will try the case in absentia and close the case and report it. "Guo Sizong kowtowed again and said, "I really dare not betray your trust. "

Half a month later, Guo Sizong arrived in court as scheduled. I said: "It seems that you are also a person of your word. I will interrogate you carefully today. You must tell the truth. If you continue to hesitate and equivocate, then you are trying your own way. Don't blame the law for being ruthless. I ask you, why do you Is it to embarrass the investigating officer or to show off your litigation skills by raising doubts in the accusation? I ask you again, you said in the first accusation that there was a scar on the deceased's arm. The charge sheet also stated that there were two more wounds on the deceased's arms - could the wounds on the deceased be added or removed at will? Besides, the corpse was a pattern issued by the Ministry of Punishment, and was filled in with a red pen by the autopsy examiner on the spot. Report to the Ministry of Criminal Justice, who are you and what kind of things do you have to fill in? Today, I don’t want to say more. I will just say one thing, you are a very experienced lawyer and you know very well that your daughter committed suicide. If you accept this conclusion, you will sign and sign and the case will be closed. If you think that your daughter was murdered, please sign and sign, and I will transport the body of the deceased to the provincial capital for another inspection. If the facts prove it. It's a false accusation. We will report your usual behavior and the circumstances of disrupting justice in this case to the Criminal Department, and the Criminal Department will convict you."

Guo Sizong was still hesitating and evasive. I shouted and slapped my hands. Magistrate Jin was shocked and worried that he would not cooperate even more after being blamed. I said, "Why should I be afraid of being in charge of a litigant?" Guo Sizong's arrogance was dispelled, and he honestly signed and signed the case and settled the case. His son-in-law should be acquitted according to law, but Si Ruiyuan was worried that Guo Sizong would retract his confession, so he labeled his son-in-law as "something he shouldn't do" (meaning he shouldn't teach his wife with fists---in our case It was the most common thing in that era) to be punished with thirty whips with a cane in order to please Guo Sizong. Even if the boy's future was wiped out, prisoners who had been punished could not take the examination for merit.

[1] In the old days, the people in the government responsible for examining corpses and murder cases were equivalent to today's "forensic doctors."

There was once a hundred thousand taels of silver placed in front of me

Sixteen people, including Wu Longtu, a wealthy businessman in Jiexiu County, accused a person named Hou Shengyun of "taking their principal by defrauding them" (taking their principal without paying interest or even paying back the principal). This case was originally tried in Jiexiu County, which is under its jurisdiction. I had just acted for the Taiyuan magistrate when my family member Chen Xiang colluded with one of my subordinates named Xiong and brought the case to Taiyuan Prefecture for trial. I thought it was a simple financial dispute, so I didn't pay much attention to it. Unexpectedly, I was put in a fight by these two guys.

One day, I saw committee member Wang Jinjie arraigning the case. At this time, sixteen plaintiffs appeared in the lobby together in fresh clothes. The defendant Hou Shengyun was also eloquent, and there were many more scribes on duty beside them than usual. At that time, I was trying an unethical murder case on the kang, and there were only two or three police officers on duty. After a moment of comparison, I felt something was wrong: Is an economic dispute worth such a big fight? Wang Jinjie also thought that the smell of copper in this case was too strong and asked me to interrogate it personally. I read the files and studied them carefully, and got a rough understanding of the case: Hou Shengyun's family opened a bank, and Wu Longtu and other sixteen people each put tens of thousands of taels of silver in the bank as principal. Hou Shengyun used the money to open many branches across the country, from Fengtian to Zhejiang. Hou Shengyun settles accounts with these sixteen shareholders every three years and pays interest. This has been the case for many years. In recent years, the bank's business has been sluggish and its profits have decreased. Shareholders have suspected that Hou Shengyun is profiting from it. Hou Shengyun believed that it was unscrupulous for these shareholders to gossip about small losses now that they had made profits for many years, so the two parties filed a lawsuit in court. I took a closer look at the bank's operating accounts and found they were complicated. I couldn't draw a conclusion at once, so I ordered the clerk to work with the plaintiff and defendant to settle the accounts and report them.

One morning, I went to visit the governor. I met Hengtong, the governor of Taiyuan City, in the official hall. He bowed to me and said, "I am about to go to Bertune to take office, and I am worried about the shortage of travel expenses. Now I have an acquaintance. , hired twenty cars for me, and gave me a few hundred taels of silver for transportation. I also pre-purchased many items at various shops in Bertune City, and handed me the receipts to pick up the goods when I arrived. "After hearing this, I quickly congratulated him: "It is difficult for ordinary people to undress me and feed me. How come you are so lucky to make such a friend?" Hengtong said: "But I'm afraid this matter can't be done without you." I was surprised, why is it still involving me? Hengtong explained: "Wu Longtu and others from Jiexiu County are litigating in Taiyuan Prefecture. Sixteen of them are well-known wealthy businessmen in Jiexiu County. They have filed a lawsuit with Hou Shengyun because of grudges. They just want the government to punish Hou Shengyun for dozens of people. Let them vent their anger. If they can let Hou Shengyun eat dozens of dollars without careful examination, they are willing to pay one hundred thousand taels of silver as a reward--they know that there is little chance of winning the lawsuit. He agreed: "Is there such a good thing? The boards in Taiyuan Prefecture's Yamen are really valuable. A few dozen big boards are worth one hundred thousand oceans. It's really a huge profit! With such a huge sum of money, I can go back to If you are a wealthy man in the countryside, why bother working so hard to be a fourth-grade prefect here? "