Master Yuan, start!

The most important thing is that there is no legal basis.

It's a republic now, so he can't make judgments based on the laws of the Qing Dynasty.

However, the current republic has neither a constitution nor a specific criminal code.

After much deliberation, Yuan Xiangcheng decided to use someone else's hand to achieve his goal.

That’s right, it’s a public trial.

During the later Anti-Japanese War, the Party Central Committee did not recognize the laws of the Nanjing Nationalist Government, but due to a shortage of manpower and insufficient manpower to compile laws, it could only issue extremely general border policy programs to obscure its rule.

Therefore, in that era when there was a lack of legal basis for judging cases, public trials came into being.

The so-called public trial is a case trial where any citizen can participate, and the basis for sentencing is often based on the standards in the minds of the people.

A person can pay with his life or not, the key is whether the people agree or not.

"Wei Tianming, go and bring the miner here."

Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at the young president, then turned around and said:

"As for us, let's go and meet those people who are blocking the road!"

The eastern sky was already showing signs of rosy clouds. Yuan Xiangcheng put out the bonfire and led his troops to where the people were camping.

Yuan Xiangcheng called all the people to their feet and loudly asked, "Let me ask you, is it true that Shandong miners beat and killed Jiangsu people?"

The people who had just woken up from their dreams rubbed their eyes and said quickly, "Yes, yes!"

"Then tell me, is it only natural that a person should pay with his life?"

"Yes Yes!"

The people blocking the road below said in unison.

"Okay, then tell me, isn't it natural to avenge my father?!"

"This"

Revenge for my father, what is revenge for my father?

After hearing Yuan Xiangcheng's remarks, the younger people among the people blocking the road looked confused, but a few elderly men with gray hair and beards seemed to be thinking about something.

"Is it or no?!" Seeing no one answering, Yuan Xiangcheng asked again loudly.

Seeing Yuan Xiangcheng's unfriendly tone, some of the people who were originally standing were frightened and the timid ones knelt down and kowtowed.

They crawled in front of Yuan Xiangcheng, sat on the ground, cried bitterly, and begged Yuan Xiangcheng to see the truth and uphold justice for them.

"Why are you kneeling? Why are you kowtowin'?"

Wu Yuanxiang saw the people kneeling on the ground and said with a look of disappointment: "If you don't kowtow, will I not uphold justice for you?"

Seeing that Yuan Xiangcheng did not seem to have any intention of taking sides, the people blocking the road slowly stood up.

"Okay, then let me ask you another question. Are you aware that Zhang Shi, a Jiangsu resident who was murdered, beat to death the Shandong miner's father 20 years ago?"

"Wow!"

As if hearing Yuan Xiangcheng's words, the people of Jiangsu who were originally blocking the road also made restless sounds.

It seems that not everyone knows the ins and outs of this matter.

2 After all, this is a 20-year-old story.

"That Shandong boy is actually seeking revenge for his father?"

"That's impossible. He just arrived in Xuzhou. How can he blame Old Zhang for his father's death?"

"I don't think so. Old Zhang is used to being a boss in the village. Every family in the neighborhood has had a quarrel with him."

Amidst the discussions among the crowd, the balance in their hearts slowly began to tilt.

Blood revenge is only natural.

This has been the political correctness of feudal China for more than 2000 years. For ordinary people, it is almost a universal "spiritual tablet"

Most people are afraid of murderers.

But if the murderer was "avenging his father", most people would sympathize with him.

If the person being killed is not of good character, then the people's views on this matter will often be completely different from the initial ones.

Finally, a hunchbacked old man trembled as he walked through the crowd and came forward: "Mr. President, this is indeed true!"

Looking at the old man who took the lead in blocking the road yesterday, Yuan Xiangcheng once again deeply realized what "the limitations of the peasant class" meant.

The working people are simple, but sometimes they are cunning when faced with matters concerning their own interests.

This old man instigated the villagers to come and block the road, probably because he thought that after taking back the land, he could make it public property and get a share of the profits himself.

"Chief Instructor, bring the miner in question here!"

Just as everyone was watching Yuan Xiangcheng, the dusty Wei Tianming finally arrived at the scene with the miners who looked a little lonely.

In addition to the miners, Wei Tianming also brought the head reporter of a local newspaper in Xuzhou.

Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at the newcomers and continued to focus his attention on the people in front of him: 4!

"My fellow villagers, today, I am here to give you justice.

But this Republic is ultimately a place where reason prevails, unlike the Qing Dynasty where whoever has more money or connections in the government has the final say."

Just when everyone thought that Yuan Shikai would wave his hand and declare the miner not guilty, he suddenly ordered his men to tie the miner's hands behind his back and make him kneel on the ground.

"Today, I, Yuan, will not make any judgments. I will leave it entirely to you to decide.

Justice, what is justice?

It is fair to pay with one's life for one's murder, and it is also fair to avenge one's father.

Tell me, how should we judge this justice?"

The thousands of people blocking the road looked at each other, but they didn't expect that President Yuan would kick the ball to himself.

Try a case?

We don't know how to do that either.

Seeing this, Yuan Xiangcheng could only look to Yan Fu for help.

Yan Fu was quite interested in this matter and immediately understood what Yuan Xiangcheng meant.

He quickly divided the people into two sides and placed the miner in the middle.

After explaining the whole story of 20 years ago, Yan Fu ordered the security regiment to give each civilian a grain of soybean dry food used by soldiers accompanying the army.

Two large vats with "capital punishment" and "no capital punishment" written on them were placed in the open space, and the people were allowed to put beans in them to express their opinions.

"Those who think that miners are guilty of capital crimes shall be thrown into the black vat."

"Those who believe that the miners are not guilty of capital crimes will be thrown into the yellow vat."

"Now, start throwing the beans!"

Yuan Xiangcheng looked at the people who were either stopping in front of the black jar or the yellow jar, and his eyes did not change.

Finally, the bean-throwing event was concluded after two hours.

The matter of singing beans soon began to spread in front of everyone.

"Black Tank 15, 35, 101, 151!"

"Yellow jar 75, 206, 375, 760!"

"There are also about 20 broken beans in the black jar and about 85 broken beans in the yellow jar, which are not included."

Is there such a way of trying cases in this world?

The reporter from Xuzhou Times who came with Wei Tianming had his eyes shining and quickly took up a pen to record the scene before him.

Whether these people were afraid or really felt that it was natural to avenge their fathers.

But the result is already obvious. The majority of people believe that the miners are not guilty.

After Yan Fu looked at the counted beans, he said loudly, "Since the verdict has been made, I declare that miner Liu Yan is not guilty of the death penalty!"

Thousands of people who had thrown the beans with their own hands saw that the matter was finally over. They looked at each other and stopped talking.

The facts are here, people’s hearts are here, and we cannot lie.

Seeing this, Liu Qingxu, who was standing by, hurriedly asked the local people to disperse. Before leaving, he did not forget to give Wei Tianming a wink.

Wei Tianming also reacted at this time and took the initiative to take the people back, wanting to leave a good impression in front of Yuan Xiangcheng.

However, Yuan Xiangcheng looked at Liu and Wei busying around and said calmly:

"You two, stay here for now."

Just when Wei Tianming thought Yuan Xiangcheng would blame him harshly, he did not expect Yuan Xiangcheng to slowly say:

"This matter is ultimately only a temporary solution, not a fundamental one. The dispute over land in Lu and Jiangsu has been going on for nearly sixty years. Today, there's not a dispute between Zhang Shi and Liu Yan, but tomorrow there will be a dispute between Zhang San and Li Si."

"Weiting, what do you mean?" Zhang Jian asked softly when he saw Yuan Xiangcheng's expression.

"I intend to establish a Huaihe River Military Control Zone within the hundreds of miles of Xuzhou. The first task is to regulate the Huaihe River, the second is to manage the farms in the Yellow River floodplain, the third is to develop coal and iron, and the fourth is to repair the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Railway.

Since the Yellow River burst its banks, refugees have been everywhere in the Jiangsu, Shandong and Anhui regions. If you want to revive them, you have to use severe punishments during this chaotic time.

After the establishment of the military control zone, the area used the strength of the entire province to fully prepare for four important projects: the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Railway, the Xuzhou Coal and Iron Mine, the Yellow River Flood Reclamation Area, and the control of the Huaihe River.

As the saying goes, concentrate your efforts on big things! "

Yuan Xiangcheng paused, looked at Wei Tianming and Liu Qingxu expectantly and said, "You two, one of you is very agile, and the other is very serious.

Are you sure you can take on this responsibility?"

Chapter 366 Li Hongzhang on the Road

A two-story cruise ship was anchored in Dongting Lake for several days.

At dusk, the clouds above the lake were dyed orange by the afterglow, and under the reflection of the setting sun, they seemed to be covered with broken gold.

However, despite such beautiful scenery, the boat was silent and no one dared to speak loudly.

Only a few water birds flew by, making bursts of calls.

Even the stern kitchen, where the sound of chopping vegetables and meat was heard a few days ago, was silent.