Sweep Yuan

Chapter 76: The Trial of Wealthy Households – A Venting of Public Grievances

On October 12th, the Hongxian County Government Office reopened. Elders from the town were invited to join Commander Shi in reviewing the criminal cases. Heads of prominent families such as Liang, Fan, Huang, and Yang were also invited to observe the proceedings.

As the saying goes, there are no good banquets or good gatherings. The wealthy families actually knew what the bandit chief was planning by making a big show of clearing out the criminal cases. The county clerk, Fang Zhongwen, had secretly sent a message yesterday, saying that the bandit chief was only trying to get money and grain from the cases, and advised each family to spend money to avoid disaster.

But the philanthropist was reluctant to part with his wealth, and even though the rebel army had breached the city three days earlier, everyone was still observing the situation.

Since the bandit leader has issued a proclamation to reassure the people, attempting to win their hearts with feigned benevolence and righteousness, we can deceive him by force.

No matter how much money one has, it is the result of generations of hard work. Even if one is forced to bleed money due to the thief's power, there is no reason to hand over money before the thief has even made a move.

However, even though they had secretly formed a defensive alliance, the wealthy families were still somewhat uneasy.

The reason was that after the proclamation to reassure the people was issued, a dozen or so lowly people, with a try-it-out mentality, cooperated with the bandit army to clean up the filth in the city, and actually received money and grain in the afternoon.

The common people at the bottom of society are lazy and greedy, with no surplus wealth. If they do not work, they will not eat. Compared to being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, these ignorant and lowly people are more concerned about whether they will go hungry tomorrow.

After the news spread, the people of the city came out of their homes to work and earn money and food for the rebel army. They also tried to spread rumors that Sizhou had already sent troops, but it was difficult for the rumors to spread on a large scale.

The lowly people know nothing of loyalty or filial piety, and they don't care about government troops or bandit troops. Whoever solves their livelihood will run with them.

What's outrageous is that some lowly people skipped work today and came spontaneously to watch the chief thief adjudicate a case.

At this time, there was little entertainment available to the common people, and in the past, whenever the county government adjudicated a case, it would attract some scoundrels to watch.

In the past, there were at most a dozen or so onlookers; any more than that would be driven away by the yamen runners.

Even before the trial began today, over a hundred untouchables had already arrived, and more were still arriving later.

Even more outrageous, the bandit leader not only didn't send anyone to drive them away, but instead used the excuse that the county government office was too cramped to accommodate so many people to watch the trial, and moved the trial to the street.

Liang Zuyou, the head of the Liang family, followed Shishan out of the county government office and immediately sensed something was wrong: the streets were filled with bandit soldiers who were on high alert, blocking the crowd and controlling all the intersections.

Liang Zuyou quickly calmed down. The bandit leader was trying to win people's hearts, so he wouldn't be so ruthless as to slaughter all the wealthy families.

But we are not afraid of the threats from outside bandits; we are afraid of the people in the city having ulterior motives.

Although the crowd of commoners who came to observe the trial was bustling, they were subtly divided into several groups, as if someone was secretly organizing them. The sight of Deng Shunxing flashing past at the back of the crowd made Liang Zuyou's heart skip a beat.

The Liang family had seized the Deng family's ancestral property, creating a rift between the two families, which Liang Zuyou could not ignore.

On the day the city fell, the bandit leader went to Deng Shunxing's house. No one knows what they discussed, but Deng's son was exceptionally cunning and did not reveal a word. Who knows if he would target the Liang family today?

Before Liang Zuyou could even sort things out, three gongs were sounded, signaling the official start of the joint trial.

The first case was a rape and murder.

The evidence for the wrongful conviction in this case was conclusive. Shi Shan made the judgment in just a few words, and the wrongly convicted person was released on the spot. Cao Shixian, who had wrongfully judged the case, was dead. The real culprit and the person who made the false accusation were imprisoned and were to be executed along with Lin Chihudu and others at noon the next day.

Previously, he earned trust by paying wages according to labor, and today he is redressing grievances and upholding justice for the people.

The common people may be ignorant, but they can distinguish right from wrong. Under the guidance of those with good intentions, they all cried out for "just heaven".

Liang Zuyou and Fan Shimian, the head of the Fan family, exchanged a glance and saw deep worry in each other's eyes. They thought to themselves that they would probably have to spend money to avoid disaster today.

We were at their mercy, like fish on a chopping board. No matter how bitter the wealthy families felt, they could only echo the sentiments of "Upright Official Shi" and follow the common people's lead.

The second case involved murder for money. The case involved a powerful servant who forcibly seized farmland, leading to a man's suicide by hanging. As soon as the victim appeared, Liang Zuyou, the head of the Liang family, broke out in a cold sweat, because the perpetrator was none other than his servant, Liang An.

Fortunately, Shi Shan judged the case based solely on facts. Although the real culprit, Liang An, was sentenced to beheading, the Liang family was not implicated.

Having escaped a calamity, Liang Zuyou dared not delay any longer. He immediately stepped forward, took the initiative to admit his responsibility for not managing his household properly, offered to give 100 strings of cash to comfort the aggrieved family, and promised to provide 400 shi of grain for the repair of the city.

Other wealthy households also generously supported the army, contributing either 200 shi of grain or 100 bolts of cloth, and so on.

Compared to the portion previously offered to Lin Chihudu, the meager amount of money and provisions promised by the wealthy households was practically nothing more than enough to feed a beggar.

Shi Shan chuckled inwardly at these guys who were about to die and were still trying to outsmart him. He immediately put on a stern face and said that the donation of money and grain would be discussed later, and then continued the trial.

"Send word to the aggrieved party, Huang Er!"

The crowd suddenly parted to make way for Wang Ermu, who was in front, followed by four soldiers from the "Red Heart Battalion" carrying a corpse covered with a white sheet.

Huang Er held up the petition, kowtowed, and cried out his grievance:

“Liang Zuyou murdered my brother. I beg you, sir, to do justice for this humble person.”

"Does Master Liang recognize the deceased?"

The soldier lifted the white cloth, revealing a skeleton with its right hand severed at the wrist.

Liang Zuyou fell to the ground, his mouth trembling for a long time. How could he forget that three years ago, when the tenants resisted rent, he was the one who personally cut off the wrist of the leader and buried him alive?

Seeing Liang Zuyou's ashen face and inability to speak, Fan Shimian, the head of the Fan family, knew that the Liang and Fan families were one, and that if the Liang family died today, the Fan family would not escape either. He immediately stepped forward and forced himself to remain calm, saying:

"My lord, how can you judge a case based solely on this person's testimony and some unknown skeleton?"

No sooner had Fan Shimian finished speaking than a lame old man suddenly rushed out from the crowd.

"You dog! Do you remember fifteen years ago, when the bandit Wang Erlang slaughtered fifty-three members of the Fang family?"

Fangjia Village originally had two salt wells, which fell into the hands of the Fan family after the tragedy. However, fifteen years had passed since then, and Wang Erlang died unexpectedly not long after, so the evidence had long been eliminated.

Before Fan Shimian could even defend himself, people began to kneel down one after another, crying out for justice.

More than ten victims successively exposed the shocking secrets of the Liang family, such as forcing women into prostitution and drowning tenants who resisted rent, and the Fan family's illegal trading of salt and iron and robbery and murder of passing merchants, which dragged both the Liang and Fan families into the mess.

Liang An, who was supposed to be sent to death row, suddenly turned against his master and accused the family head Liang Zuyou of instigating the previous events.

Knowing he was doomed, Fan Shimian suddenly lunged at the bailiffs beside him, shouting, "You fabricated false evidence and slaughtered the gentry, you will surely be punished—"

Deng Shunxing was prepared. He stepped forward and kicked him to the ground, admitting that he had secretly collected all the evidence in order to uphold justice and restore order to Hong County.

The wealthy families were already afraid of the "Red Heart Battalion" soldiers present and dared not resist. They were also swayed by Shi Shan's influence and the traitor Deng Shunxing took the initiative to cooperate. In order to distance themselves and protect themselves, they all accused Liang and Fan of illegal acts.

On the same day, Shishan confiscated the property of the Liang and Fan families, cleared and returned the farmland they had seized, and the people in the city celebrated by setting off firecrackers.

At noon the next day, when the executioner's blade fell, the onlookers eagerly threw the steamed buns they had prepared onto the pool of blood. According to the Hongxian County Annals, on that day, people shared "liangfan" (a type of rice dish), and the market sold out of fermented bean paste and sauce.

(End of this chapter)