RPAGF Chapter 30 Wu Song
Chapter 30 Wu Song
Li Chong sat upright in the main hall, dressed in his official robes, but his mind had already wandered off somewhere else.
"Yang Chengde should not have been involved in colluding with that gang of highway robbers. As a person who passed the imperial examinations and had a bright future, he would not have tarnished his own reputation. Otherwise, he would not be deliberately avoiding suspicion today."
Li Chong frowned: "However, even if Yang Chengde wasn't involved, he definitely knew that the Zhu family was secretly colluding with bandits. Even if he didn't know the details, he probably had some guesses, but he was just pretending not to know."
"Now is the time to collect taxes, and he's hoping to gain merit by collecting taxes. He's already offended other bigwigs, so naturally he can't afford to offend the Zhu family as well. That's why he stepped in today to act as a go-between, and then left at the opportune moment, allowing Zhu Binghe to speak with me alone."
"As for the two maids, let's keep them for now..."
Li Chong was, after all, an official appointed by the imperial court. Apart from him, there were few people in the world who dared to predict that the Northern Song Dynasty would perish within ten years.
Therefore, as an official, he should still be safe within the rules.
Those two maids are unlikely to be a trap set by the Zhu family to harm Li Chong, so it wouldn't hurt to take them in.
Moreover, Li Chong had long been fed up with Cui Shi, this servant. After knowing him for so many days, he found the man to be incredibly stupid.
If that were the case, Li Chong certainly wouldn't want him to continue loitering around in front of him.
"but……"
Li Chong felt a surge of irritation as he thought of Cui Shi: "What should I do with him?"
A ruthless thought swirled in Li Chong's mind, but he couldn't bring himself to make that decision.
"The county magistrate? The county magistrate?"
Just as Li Chong was lost in thought, someone beside him whispered a few words to him.
"Huh?" Li Chong snapped out of his daze, looked up, and exclaimed, "What?"
Everyone below the hall was looking at him with strange expressions.
What's wrong with this county magistrate today? He's even lost focus while handling a case?
The clerk in charge of copying documents in the county office cautiously reminded him, "Your Honor, the judgment is still pending. What do you think..."
Li Chong suddenly remembered that he was still interrogating a case.
The main problem is that the case is just too boring. The two of them were arguing down there over trivial matters. Is that even worth bringing to court?
"It's all because of that bastard Yang Chengde!" Li Chong cursed inwardly.
He coughed lightly, putting his fist to his mouth: "Ahem! Silence."
The two groups of yamen runners slammed their water and fire sticks on the ground and chanted in unison.
"mighty--"
Looking down at the two kneeling men, Li Chong glanced at the case file: "Zhang Lao Er, you stole one of Feng Li's breeding chickens without permission, committing the crime of 'theft,' which, according to the law, is punishable by fifty strokes of the cane. Do you accept this?"
A man kneeling below retorted defiantly, "Sir, I refuse to accept this! It was clearly that man surnamed Feng who occupied my land first, so why should I be the one to be punished?"
Li Chong's face darkened: "I am judging a theft case, don't try to make trouble here."
Just now, the plaintiff and the defendant kept bringing up old grievances. One said that he stole his own vegetables, and the other said that he stole them because someone else was gossiping behind his back.
The investigation went on and on, seemingly endlessly, until Li Chong finally lost focus.
After reviewing the case file, Li Chong decided that the simplest solution was to act swiftly and decisively.
"I'd rather..."
Li Chong warned, "Zhang Lao Er, don't forget, you stole a hen. If the hen has chicks, and the chicks have chicks, how much is that worth? According to our dynasty's criminal law, this county can even sentence you to imprisonment. Are you still going to try to argue?"
The Song Dynasty Criminal Code, in its section on theft and robbery, stipulated that: for all theft, the offender shall not be punished with fifty strokes of the cane; for each foot of hair, the punishment shall be sixty strokes of the cane, and for each bolt of cloth, the punishment shall be increased by one degree; for five bolts of cloth, the punishment shall be one year of penal servitude, for ten bolts of cloth, the punishment shall be increased by one degree, and for fifty bolts of cloth, the punishment shall be exile and forced
Li Chong had already given the lowest possible punishment; what he said afterward was, of course, meant to intimidate the man.
Sure enough, upon hearing Li Chong's words, Zhang Lao Er turned pale with fright and quickly shook his head.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."
"Hmm." Li Chong nodded, slammed his hand on the court table, and declared, "This county magistrate pronounces the verdict: Zhang Lao Er stole one of Feng Li's hens and is sentenced to fifty strokes of the cane and ordered to pay one dou of rice in compensation. Are you two satisfied with this?"
Zhang Lao Er nodded dejectedly.
The plaintiff, Feng Li, glanced at him smugly and kowtowed to Li Chong, saying, "I am convinced and thank you, Your Honor."
"Don't rush," Li Chong smiled at him, "The county hasn't finished judging yet."
That smile made Feng Li's heart skip a beat.
Li Chong picked up the "Song Criminal Code" and began to read it. After a short while, he delivered his verdict.
"Feng Li has unjustly seized Zhang Lao Er's land. Since it is less than one mu, he is hereby given a lenient sentence of thirty strokes of the cane and ordered to return the land without fail. Are you satisfied with this?"
According to the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code - Household and Marriage Laws", those who steal and cultivate public or private land shall be punished with 30 strokes of the cane for less than one mu, and one degree more for five mu; those who steal more than one hundred strokes of the cane shall be punished with one degree more for ten mu, and the punishment shall be limited to one and a half years of penal servitude. The punishment shall be reduced by one degree for wasteland.
Li Chong's judgment was made strictly in accordance with Song Dynasty law, without bias or prejudice.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhang Lao Er immediately beamed with joy and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Excellency is wise! Your Excellency is wise!"
Although he took more hits than Feng Li, at least Tian was coming back.
But Feng Li objected: "Sir, I'm the plaintiff..."
"Hmm?" Li Chong's eyes narrowed. "Are you teaching me how to do things?"
Feng Li immediately shrank back and dared not utter a sound.
Having handled so many cases, Li Chong was already very skilled at it.
The common people in ancient times were much easier to fool than modern people, and the authority of the government was much greater than Li Chong had imagined. In the trial, Li Chong could really do whatever he wanted, as long as no one stopped him.
No wonder the county magistrate is called the Marquis of a Hundred Miles.
After glancing at the two men below the throne, Li Chong slammed his hand on the table: "Since neither of them has any objections, then the verdict shall be as stated! Take them away to be executed! Court adjourned!"
Accompanied by the bailiffs' shouts of "Majesty!", Li Chong got up and went into the back hall.
Back in the back room, Li Chong picked up the tea that had been prepared and took a sip.
"Solving these cases isn't difficult, it's just so boring, it's all just mundane stuff all day long."
Shaking his head helplessly, Li Chong loosened the collar of his official robe. As summer approached, the weather was getting hotter and hotter.
"County Magistrate."
The clerk walked closer with the case file, gave Li Chong, who was dressed in disheveled clothes, a strange look, and quickly lowered his head again.
"This is the next case. When would you like to interrogate the suspect?"
Li Chong glanced at it: "Just leave it there for now. I'll take a look at it later. Have someone call the plaintiff and the defendant over first, so I don't have to wait any longer."
"That's unnecessary. There's no plaintiff in this case, and there are both witnesses and physical evidence. Your Excellency only needs to adjudicate the case."
"Hmm?" Li Chong paused in his tea-drinking motion. "Why is that?"
The man whispered, "Because this is a murder case."
As soon as he opened his eyes, Li Chong perked up.
A murder case? How exciting!
He immediately picked up the case file and looked it over. Sure enough, it was a murder case, and he was quite familiar with the murderer, Li Chong.
"The murderer is—Wu Song?!"