mesbooks Chapter 70 Joint Trial
Chapter 70 Joint Trial
Liu Shan's eyes were sharp as he looked around, finally fixing his gaze on Zhu Youyi. He slowly approached and said coldly, "If you don't give me an explanation for what happened today, don't expect things to end peacefully!"
Zhu Youyi remained expressionless and retorted, "Do you really dare to kill me?"
Liu Shan's lips curled slightly as he slowly raised his right palm, gathering inner strength in it. His tone was icy: "Killing you is no problem. I'm not afraid of trouble, but killing you now would only make things easier for you. I will take you back to the government office, throw you in jail, and interrogate you personally."
Zhu Youyi snorted coldly, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, but he still pretended to be calm: "Liu Shan, have you forgotten that when soldiers commit crimes, local officials have no right to directly try them, but rather the superior officer or commander-in-chief must determine the crime. Therefore, the government office has no right to try me!"
Liu Shan sneered, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. If I say I'll put you in jail, I will do it! If you think you can get away with it as a soldier, you're sorely mistaken. I will make you pay for your debt in blood!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youyi turned pale and trembled violently.
The prisons of the Xia Dynasty were notorious. The higher the rank of the prison, the less supervision it received, and the more unrestrained the behavior became.
Taking the government prison as an example, if a prisoner has no background or money to bribe officials, he will be severely punished, if not killed.
Liu Shan ordered his officers to bring ropes and personally bound Zhu Youyi, drawing stares from all the surrounding soldiers.
Zhu Youyi struggled in vain; the rope tightened, causing him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
Seeing the angry but silent expressions on the faces of the garrison soldiers, Liu Shan shouted, "You can be dissatisfied, but unless you can beat me, you'd better keep quiet!"
The soldiers looked at each other, unwilling to give up, but after weighing the difference in strength between the two sides, they all shook their heads and sighed, and no one dared to step forward.
Zhu Youyi's face flushed red as he roared, "Are you just going to stand by and watch me be humiliated? A bunch of useless bastards! I'll skin you alive later! I... Waaah!"
Liu Shan picked up a tattered cloth from somewhere. Although it was dirty, he didn't mind and forcefully stuffed it into Zhu Youyi's mouth.
Zhu Youyi's eyes widened, and he made muffled protests, but he couldn't speak.
Liu Shan coldly swept his gaze over the crowd and ordered in a deep voice: "Squad leaders of the garrison, each lead ten men to be responsible for the escort, and the remaining ten men will requisition the carriages. I want to bring all the brothers home!"
Although the squad leaders were dissatisfied, they could only obey orders and quickly divide into groups to take action.
The five remaining officers couldn't help but burst into tears. The word "go home" seemed to weigh as heavily on their hearts, making it hard for them to breathe.
The officials who came to Jinhua County this time are sons of parents, husbands of wives, and fathers of children... It's hard to imagine what kind of blow their families would suffer after losing them.
Liu Shan's gaze swept over the crowd, a complex emotion welling up inside him.
Under his leadership, everyone silently carried the corpses, each step as heavy as lead.
They carefully placed the bodies onto the carriage, afraid of disturbing their "sleeping" brothers.
Liu Shan took a deep breath, his eyes slightly red, but he held back his tears and prayed softly, "May your souls rest in peace. I will do my best to take care of the family."
Before leaving, Liu Shan collected the few remaining ox-tail knives from the iron furnace. These were important pieces of evidence that would be useful in the future.
The carriage started slowly, its wheels rolling over the mud with a dull thud.
Zhu Youyi was being held captive on the carriage, his eyes filled with despair. Liu Shan, on the other hand, secretly vowed to get to the bottom of this case and to seek justice for his brothers, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
……
At dawn, the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon.
When the group arrived outside Cangzhou City, Yin Nantian, Li Polu, and others, who had received advance notice, were already waiting for them.
Even Chiang Hsiao-yung stood beside them, his expression shifting between light and dark.
Yin Nantian stepped forward, patted Liu Shan's shoulder forcefully, and said in a deep voice, "It's good that you're alive. We'll talk about everything when we get back."
Li Polu also stepped forward and pinched Liu Shan's arm hard, everything was understood without words.
Liu Shan's eyes were slightly red, but he didn't say a word. He just nodded silently, having made up his mind that no matter how difficult the road ahead, he was determined to uncover the truth and live up to the spirits of his brothers.
Jiang Xiaoyong's gaze was complicated as he slowly spoke: "Thank you for your hard work this time. We will handle the follow-up matters properly."
Liu Shan took a deep breath and stared at Jiang Xiaoyong, neither of them willing to back down.
The air was heavy and resolute, as if a storm was about to break.
Given their fathers' friendship, Liu Shanqiang suppressed his anger and said coldly, "Greetings, Lord Jiang. The case is still unclear. The blood of our brothers cannot be shed in vain. Please handle this matter fairly."
However, Jiang Xiaoyong smiled faintly and said without a doubt, "Release the person first."
Release him?
How could Liu Shan possibly release them!
He clenched his fists, his eyes burning with anger, but his voice remained unusually calm: "Lord Jiang, because of Zhu Youyi's..."
"I said, release them!" Jiang Xiaoyong's tone left no room for argument.
Liu Shan took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, pointed to the corpses of the officials behind him, and gritted his teeth, saying, "I won't let them go! My brothers cannot have died in vain!"
Jiang Xiaoyong frowned slightly, glanced behind Liu Shan, paused for a moment, and then said in a slightly gentler tone: "Liu Shan, I understand your feelings, but soldiers are not under local jurisdiction, that's military regulations."
Upon hearing this, a hint of smugness flashed in Zhu Youyi's eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Liu Shanxin felt as if his heart was being torn apart. Just as he was about to retort, Yin Nantian stepped forward and coldly interrupted him: "How can the officials of the prefectural government die in vain? Return to the prefectural government immediately for a joint trial of Zhu Youyi."
Jiang Xiaoyong's face darkened, but he did not insist any further and led the garrison soldiers away.
Yin Nantian and Li Polu quickly arranged for people to handle the aftermath.
Half an hour later, Yin Nantian and Jiang Xiaoyong held a joint trial of Zhu Youyi in the main hall of the government office.
Zhu Youyi knelt below the hall, his expression arrogant.
Liu Shan listed the evidence one by one, his words resounding with conviction.
After a moment, Yin Nantian asked in a deep voice, "Zhu Youyi, do you plead guilty?"
Zhu Youyi sneered and raised his head, saying, "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. I, Zhu Youyi, have a clear conscience."
Yin Nantian slammed the gavel in anger, his voice like thunder: "The evidence is irrefutable, how dare you try to deny it! You pursued the men in black without authorization, yet you failed to kill or arrest a single person. Instead, you indirectly caused the deaths of dozens of officials. Your guilt is inescapable!"
Zhu Youyi remained unfazed and coldly snorted, "Lord Yin, how dare you presume to judge matters of the battlefield? I..."
"Shut up!" Jiang Xiaoyong shouted sharply, his gaze like a knife as he stared directly at Zhu Youyi: "You dare to talk back to the Prefect? Slap him!"
Zhu Youyi's expression changed, but he obediently lowered his head and accepted the punishment.
Yin Nantian watched coldly until Zhu Youyi's mouth was bleeding from the beating, then slowly said, "Stop. I still have questions for him later."
Zhu Youyi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze dark and gloomy.