Chapter 499: The Imperial Court’s Reputation
The Minister of Justice You Shi resolutely implemented Meng Gong's opinion.
He said: The crime of harming a young lady alone is not punishable by death, and definitely not worthy of the death penalty. However, as an official, this man actually drank and went crazy in broad daylight, and openly harmed a woman in the capital city. This is a lawless and audacious act, and his crime is unforgivable.
If this person fell into the hands of Commander Zhao, he would definitely have his limbs stepped on and tortured before being handed over to the common people to be cut into pieces.
When the gentlemen heard this, they immediately knew that in the several cases that Zhao Yulin had handled in the past, all those that aroused public indignation and civil unrest were handled on the spot and resolved in a snap.
You Shi said further that this thief actually hid in the Taijian Hall and refused to come out, causing the Chengdu Inspection Bureau to not dare to arrest him, which aroused public outrage and caused people working in brothels and theaters to gather in the streets for demonstration. The nature of this was too bad. If he was not severely punished, how could the court save its reputation?
Seeing that You Shi had risen to the level of defending the face and prestige of the imperial court, the officials stopped arguing and unanimously agreed to execute the bald man immediately and exile the other two accomplices to Corning State to do manual labor for ten years.
In the Taijian Hall, the investigating officials were discussing in low voices in groups of three or five.
Respondent A said that the bald man had brought shame to them and that his death did not deserve to be a pity and he should be punished.
Researcher B said that this was the New Song Dynasty settling scores. It was just a few women, what a big deal? They actually wanted to arrest him and put him in jail.
If it were in Lin'an Prefecture, the most that would happen would be a loss of money.
The researcher asked him: Have you forgotten the laws you learned these days? When the New Song Dynasty was first established, it promised the people of the world that everyone is equal, everyone is equal before the law, and it is not allowed to force women to do that.
We are all going to govern a region, so why should we just follow what we have learned?
This is called knowingly breaking the law, which is a more serious crime.
Then, the man sighed and said: He suffered a great loss today. He should not have been standing at the door watching. If he had been caught by Ding Gong and scolded, and his name would have been recorded in the office, he would have lost his monthly salary.
I'm afraid there's more to it than this. If the Ministry of Personnel wants to promote someone in the future and sees that he still has this stain, they might remove him from the list.
Alas.
Several people stopped talking.
The next morning, Chengdu Weekly published a series of reports on the whole story of the bald man who forced people to death in Yihong Courtyard. The officials of the New Song Dynasty's Ministry of Justice personally tried the case and believed that the facts of the crime were clear, the crime was extremely serious, and it had greatly damaged the reputation of the court. They executed the bald man and exiled his accomplices to Corning Prefecture.
The people of Chengdu were jubilant, saying that the court truly belonged to them and that the new Song Dynasty truly believed in equality for all.
At three quarters after noon, the bald man was beheaded in public at Caishikou under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate and the Dali Temple. The two accomplices who were there with him were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground and could not get up.
The people who watched the event spread the news to others, and it was truly gratifying.
Meng Gong was in the teahouse at the back watching the happy scene of the people and smiled. He nodded continuously and said to Shi's son who was invited: Mr. Shi, don't blame me for being too ruthless. As the saying goes, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. He is protecting the world of the New Song Dynasty court.
Shi's son seemed to have aged ten years. He put down the tea bowl in his hand and said with a trembling voice that it was all their own fault. He would discipline his subordinates to strictly abide by the laws and rules and learn to work for the civilians.
Meng Gong smiled and said: That’s right.
Haha, it’s a huge progress that Shi’s son can talk about doing things for the common people.
After returning, the man called his sons and grandchildren to his side and asked them if they had seen the bald man's body and head separated at Caishikou.
Everyone in the New Song Dynasty is equal. From the king to the common people, all are protected by the law. There is no such thing as merit, favors, or paying off debts with money. The Shi family must remember this and be careful in what they do.
His eldest son said angrily : Meng Heizi acted ruthlessly without any regard for our friendship and was determined to join Zhao Qier.
Shi's son slapped him in the face and scolded him for being sleepwalking even though he had arrived in Chengdu and for living half his life in a daze.
Don't be like the bald man and lose his head in a daze.
Outside the west gate, Zhao Yulin and Cao Youwen came back. They said goodbye and Cao Youwen went into the city. He came to the Zhang family yard in Huaxi Village.
As soon as he came in, A Qian told him happily: Mrs. Hulan is pregnant.
Zhao Yulin went to find Hu Lan with joy, and the girl asked him to hug her with a happy face.
The two of them stayed together for a long time before they spoke.
A Qian told him: The city is bustling. An official from Lin'an Prefecture was killed at noon today. This thief actually harmed a woman in broad daylight and was directly executed by the Ministry of Justice.
Zhao Yulin expected that the bald man would be sentenced severely, but he did not expect that Meng Gong would directly give him the highest reward of death penalty like him.
Hulan Kaisen said that the people in the city were happy and praised the court for being equal to everyone and strict with officials.
Ah Qian said happily that the women in the brothels were crying with joy, and they all said that only the court of the New Song Dynasty treated them as human beings and treated them equally without any distinction.
If this happened in the past, the most that could happen would be to spend more money to pay compensation, but there would be no possibility of losing your head.
He said: In the New Song Dynasty, equality for all is not an empty promise. No one has privileges, and court officials must not break the rules. That is why the Ministry of Justice must punish the bald man severely and strictly.
Hu Lan said angrily: This thief blatantly ignored the laws of the court. He is despicable and deserves to be killed.
"Hahaha, it's so refreshing." A burst of hearty laughter floated in from outside the door. A Qian ran over to see, and it turned out to be her husband Meng Gong.
Zhao Yulin asked with a smile: General, you are worried about Madam Qian, so please leave the city as soon as you finish your business .
Meng Gong laughed and told him that he had seen Cao Gong. Since Cao Gong was back, my brother must have come back too. I will come to meet him right away.
The two of them burst into laughter again, and the two ladies immediately went to prepare wine and food. Zhao Yulin took Meng Gong to the pavilion for tea.
Old Meng told him that it was he who insisted on killing the bald man who caused the accident to vent public anger. Madam Yangjin also asked the newspapers to publicize the fact that everyone is equal before the law , and officials who break the law knowingly and test the law themselves will be punished more severely and will not be forgiven easily.
Zhao Yulin nodded and motioned for Lao Meng to have some tea.
The bald man's crime was not punishable by death. The reason he was beheaded was that such a bizarre incident happening in the capital city, which was under the feet of the emperor, aroused public indignation and he was punished severely.
It is very necessary for Chengdu Weekly to carry out publicity in a timely manner, and it should also use newspaper publicity to let more people know and let officials learn from it.
Meng Gong saw that the rapeseed around him was covered with husks and the wheat was turning yellow, and he sighed that there would definitely be a good harvest.
He said: This is called God rewards those who work hard. The two ladies have worked so hard here, God will definitely give them some face.
A Qian led the maid to bring wine and food and sat down. She told Meng Gong that the seedlings grown in drought-resistant conditions were two inches tall. The rice harvest here in the second half of the year will definitely be good. The seeds used are the best rice seeds in Chengdu.
Hu Lan came in and said: The people of Huaxi Village are hardworking. They go to the city to collect manure in the middle of the night and bring it back before dawn. Our newly cultivated fields have no shortage of fertilizers, and the Agricultural Affairs Bureau is even going to practice feeding salt to the crops.
Zhao Yulin had looked at them all and told them that they were called phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer, and that they must be applied according to the master's requirements, and only in small amounts, not in large amounts.
Hu Lan said in surprise: This is also the request of the master. Don’t think about applying more fertilizer. If you apply too much, the seedlings will be burned to death.
Zhao Yulin nodded, and seeing that both women looked serious, he stopped talking and invited Lao Meng to join them for a drink. The two families clinked their glasses, and Hu Lan tilted her head back to toast.
He quickly took the wine glass from his aunt and said he couldn't drink it.
A Qian said to Lao Meng with great envy that Hu Lan was pregnant.
Meng Gong was stunned for a moment, then he immediately brought Hu Lan's tea bowl over with a smile and said, "Tea instead of wine, tea instead of wine." After the meal, the two families went back to their rooms to rest.
Hu Lan whispered in his ear that A Qian wanted a child, so Meng Gong would definitely be busy.
Zhao Yulin looked at Hu Lan slyly and asked her: "You are really good at talking. Are you hinting that your husband should go to the fields to plow?" Then he picked up the little girl and walked towards the inner room.
Hu Lan happily kept shouting "No, no, we have a baby".
Zhao Yulin held Hu Lan tightly in his arms like a princess, with her hands around his neck. They walked around the room three times before letting each other go. Hu Lan patted him on the face twice excitedly and shouted to the maid outside to serve tea.
He said no, drinking tea at night will not help sleeping well, it is better to drink boiled water, otherwise both the mother and the baby will not be able to rest well.
The two men drank boiled water and continued to discuss the affairs of Huaxi Village.
Hu Lan told him that the pig farm in Huaxi had released piglets, and that one hundred piglets were purchased at one time.
He smiled and nodded, then picked up the thermos to refill Hulan's water.
Hu Lan added: The biogas digester really produces gas, and the pig farm can use more than enough for boiling water and cooking pig feed.
He looked at Hu Lan intently and continued to listen to her.
They divided the people of Huaxi Village into three groups according to their place of residence. Each group was equipped with an office, a medical room, a storage room, a tool room, a granary and a drying yard, all of which were to be well repaired.
Zhao Yulin was very satisfied, and gently straightened Hu Lan's bangs and praised her for her good work. This is called seeking truth from facts. Huaxi Village is so large that if we don't do this kind of grouping, it will be very time-consuming and labor-intensive to organize harvesting and production in the future.
He said: Common people are used to storing grain, and after the grain harvest , the grain rations can be distributed to each family to reduce the difficulty of storage management in the village. However, there must be houses such as storage rooms and grain warehouses, otherwise the collective will have nothing after working all year round.
The little girl's face flushed and her eyes were burning as he looked at her. She turned around and sat in his arms to talk. He said he still needed to write down some notes.
The little girl was excited and didn't care about all these. She just wanted to talk and write in his arms.
Immortal Banban, you are just fanning the flames. Zhao Yulin waited carefully and continued...
The next day, Meng Gong invited Zhao Yulin to check out the pig farm and the biogas digester he designed, saying that he wanted to see Brother Yulin's new things.
Zhao Yulin also wanted to see the real effect of the biogas pool, so he readily agreed. As soon as the two walked out of the gate, they saw a group of officials coming in one after .
Looking carefully, the leader was none other than Mr. Ding, the head of Taijian Hall.
The two families quickly went to meet them.
