Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Today is the big day for the joint trial of Li Zhigang, the judge of "the more prisons, the more rewards".

Although he has rich experience in prison, this kind of big scene was the first time even for Li Zhigang.

Because the "Ming Pao" propaganda was relatively loud before this, the public paid a lot of attention to it. People in the city talked about the possible trial results of this case after dinner.

Outside the Criminal Department, the onlookers blocked the Yamen.

"Hey, look! Someone is coming out at the other end of the street!" A sharp-eyed woman shouted on tiptoes and pointed to the corner of the long street at the other end of the Penal Department Yamen.

Then more people discovered the carriage coming from the direction of the prison.

"People are coming! People are coming!"

"It's about to begin!"

The people onlookers shouted after him.

The carriage was very simple, without even a mat, and when Li Zhi was locked in the carriage, his eyes were tightly closed, and he was obviously upset.

The carriage drove slowly for a while and then stopped. The urging voice of Jin Yiwei sounded outside: "We're here!"

"It's time to go down!"

A cold reminder made Li Zhigang's eyelids twitch.

He opened his eyes and found that the carriage had stopped, and the guards who were following him jumped off their horses and went through the handover procedures.

Then the coachman whipped his horse and drove away, preparing to turn around and leave. The head of the criminal department with a knife on his waist stood beside the carriage and stared at him.

Li Zhigang was previously detained in the imperial prison, so he was under the supervision of Jinyi Guards, but now he has been officially handed over to the Ministry of Punishments.

Then several officers from the Ministry of Justice poured out from the yamen, carrying water and fire sticks in their hands. Under the leadership of the official leader, they escorted Li Zhigang into the yamen.

Li Zhigang, dressed in prison uniform, slowly walked into the Penal Department Yamen. His face was very heavy, as if he was deeply worried.

Seeing this scene, the voices of people talking suddenly came from the street:

"Oh! You really have to be sentenced to death! I heard that the Jin Yiwei chopped off five or six heads last night!"

"What does Jin Yiwei's chopping of someone's head have to do with this?"

"Tsk tsk, no matter what, Master Li, this life is worth it, right?"

"Who says it's not..."

Seeing that the sound was getting louder and louder, almost deafening, two officers walked out from the Criminal Department and shouted to the people around them: "Quiet!"

With these words, the originally noisy streets suddenly became quieter. The two guards nodded with satisfaction, walked back, and closed the door.

As these sounds drifted into his ears, Li Zhigang's expression became more complicated. He lowered his head and thought about something, but never looked up again.

In fact, what some people don't understand is that few cases that require joint trial by the three judicial divisions can be overturned. How to set the tone is usually set in advance.

The joint trial of the three judicial divisions, also known as the three-court joint trial, is because when the three judicial divisions hear a case together, they will set up three tables in the middle of the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment, on which sit the three officials responsible for the case, that is, the Ministry of Punishment. If these officials are absent, they will be replaced by their deputies. Each of these three officials has the same right to speak during the trial.

Of course, nothing is absolute, and things that have been decided in advance may still be changed on the spot. The checks and balances between the three judicial departments can indeed reduce the probability of unjust, false, and wrongful convictions to a certain extent.

But again, the essence of the joint trial of the three judges is the right to make trial suggestions. The real right to judge is still in the hands of the emperor. The opinions of the three judges can only be said to be "for reference only."

The emperor's final verdict was either to agree with the outcome of the joint trial of the three judicial divisions and then carry it out; or to agree in principle, but not satisfied with the specific sentencing, and change the sentence himself; or to simply send it back for a new trial.

The reason why Li Zhigang felt uncertain was because he had waited too long and had too many variables. The Tri-Legal Tribunal should have communicated opinions privately, but now that the city was in turmoil, many variables had been added, making him unsure. .

Li Zhigang took a deep breath and walked towards the Yamen with heavy steps.

After entering the yamen, the officers followed him closely, fearing that something unexpected might happen to Li Zhigang on the territory of the Criminal Department. This was not the case before. Some officials were under too much psychological pressure, so they did not need to interrogate and just went on their own. Hitting a wall.

But when they crossed the steps and threshold of the lobby, a middle-aged man in official uniform came over. He smiled at Li Zhigang and said, "Brother Li, you are well."

Seeing the head of the Criminal Department, whom he was familiar with before, Li Zhigang showed a bitter smile on his face.

The other party patted Li Zhigang on the shoulder, and then said: "Let's go, let's go see the Imperial Master first."

"Um?"

Li Zhigang was stunned for a moment.

Under the guidance of the other party, they came to the East Flower Hall. The West Flower Hall was where the chief officials of the Three Laws Division drank tea and rested. This was where Jiang Xinghuo, the imperial envoy, stayed alone.

Of course it is against the rules to have private contact before a case is heard, but it is another matter if it is to announce a decree.

"I pay my respects to the Imperial Master!" The head of the Criminal Department saluted Jiang Xinghuo.

Jiang Xinghuo nodded, unfolded the imperial edict in his hand and said, "His Majesty gave the order, and Li Zhigang accepted it."

Well, oral instructions also have to be put on paper.

Li Zhigang quickly kowtowed and paid homage.

"Emperor Fengtian Chengyun, ordered: Li Zhi just gave birth to an explanation, it should be yours, then recognize it; if there are any accusations, don't be confused. If you don't know anything, you can report it to the Imperial Preceptor in court. Know."

Trivia: "Fengtian carries the emperor, the emperor's edict says" is wrong. The correct sentence is "Fengtian carries the emperor, the imperial edict says." And as of today in the first year of Yongle, only the Ming Dynasty uses this method. It was established by the Mongols. In the Yuan Dynasty, the beginning was "The power of the immortal weather wraps up the great blessings, and the protection and support wrap up the emperor's imperial edict". In the Song Dynasty, the beginning was often "I Shao Ying Jun Ming" or "I Ying Haotian's Dependent Ming". Before Song Zhenzong who enshrined Zen in Taishan During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the beginning of imperial edicts had nothing to do with the emperor most of the time. They used "menxia:" as the beginning. Only the enthronement edicts would begin with the emperor.

Moreover, the emperor rarely issues "imperial edicts", which are to be issued to the world; "zhi" is drafted or written by the emperor himself to express his attention; "imperial edict" and "imperial edict" express the same meaning, and the difference lies in the grade. The first to fifth grades are "gao", and the sixth to ninth grades are "chi". "Edict" is more casual and has a wide range of applications.

When Li Zhigang heard this oral instruction, he still didn't know what it meant, but his heart suddenly fell to the ground.

Say what you should say, don't say what you shouldn't, and ask Jiang Xinghuo what you don't understand.

After announcing the decree, there were so many people here that Jiang Xinghuo couldn't say anything more to Li Zhigang alone. He only exchanged a few words in a hurry, but those two sentences made Li Zhigang's eyes light up.

"really?"

"Absolutely true."

Li Zhigang nodded and went out together, preparing to begin the trial.

The furnishings in the lobby of the Criminal Department are simple and plain. The tables, chairs and benches are all made of ordinary huanghuali wood. The desk is also very ordinary. Apart from an incense burner and a few flower pots, there is nothing else.

Huanghuali was the main material for hardwood furniture in the Ming Dynasty. It was yellow in color, fine in texture, and had a pleasant fragrance. Jiang Xinghuo sat beside the three court officials, looking at the furniture in the room and estimating how much it could be sold for.

There was no way, he was really short of money now, so for the business tax of 2.1 million taels, Jiang Xinghuo had to open a casino by himself.

Because Li Zhigang had not been sentenced, according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, just because he was wearing prison uniform did not mean that he was really guilty. In addition, because of the level of treatment, he naturally did not need to kneel, he only had to stand.

Opposite Li Zhigang sat Zheng Ci, the Minister of Punishment. On Zheng Ci's left was Chen Ying, the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and on the right was Yu Qian, the young minister of Dali Temple.

In the Ming Dynasty, the left was the most respected person, but the three councils confirmed that the one with the highest official position was in the middle. Zheng Ci was a chubby middle-aged man with a slightly round body and a smiling face. Chen Ying was not yet the censor of Zuodu. , but in fact, the person in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate has a thin face and gloomy eyes, just looking at the files on the table; Yu Qian is just the temporary deputy, and his status is naturally not as good as Chen Ying. Among the three, he has the lowest status and is the most serious. , pursed her lips tightly and remained silent.

"Li Zhigang, a native of Huating, Songjiang Prefecture, was born in the 15th year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty. In the 21st year of Hongwu's Ming Dynasty, he was selected as the servant of Prince Yiwen (Zhu Biao) by Hanlin review (from the seventh grade). Prince Yiwen passed away and was appointed to the Ministry of Rites of Jin Dynasty. The doctor was relegated to the border guard due to consecutive convictions. Within a year, Emperor Taizu Gao recalled him to the court as a doctor of the Ministry of Works, and was promoted to the Chief Envoy of Henan Province and the Right Counselor; in the 32nd year of Hongwu (the first year of Jianwen), he was promoted to the Chief Envoy of Huguang. In the 35th year of Hongwu's reign, he was promoted to Tongzheng from the right, Minister of Rites, and Minister of Rites."

Zheng Ci then read a few words according to the script, which roughly meant that since Li Zhigang was an official in the court, his father-in-law was suspected of profit transfer, colluding with officials to sell antiques at high prices, and even secretly digging tombs, etc., so according to "The Ming Dynasty" The relevant provisions of the Law, which prohibits public, marquis, uncle, fourth-rank and above officials, their families, and servants from doing business, came to arrest Li Zhigang.

In addition, the focus should be on whether Li Zhigang is involved in corruption. According to the "Da Ming Code", official corruption is punished as the so-called "violating the law" by taking money in violation of the law. , those who embezzle more than sixty taels of silver will be decapitated and sentenced to skinning), so whether he was arrested unjustly has to be argued, but Li Zhigang cannot admit this crime in any case. If he admits it, there will be no way to survive. This is also the meaning of Zhu Di's oral instructions .

After Li Zhigang finished listening, he turned to look at Jiang Xinghuo.

What Jiang Xinghuo said to him just now gave him great encouragement.

Li Zhigang never thought that Jiang Xinghuo would have such a way to directly block the bug in "The Law of the Ming Dynasty". I really don't know how Jiang Xinghuo came up with it!

Simply genius!

Jiang Xinghuo, who was confident, didn't look at him at all. Instead, he was writing something on the paper with a pen and a few pamphlets beside him.

There was no way, Jiang Xinghuo had never worked part-time as a defense lawyer before, and he had trouble sleeping again last night.

Jiang Xinghuo had been fully prepared before. He had almost finished the "Da Ming Law" and so on, and he did provide some backup for Li Zhigang, but he still felt that his speech might not be complete. Now he could only write down the key points first, so as not to Missed when improvising.

"Li Zhigang!"

Zheng Ci, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, put away his smile, hit the table with the gavel, and shouted sternly: "Do you know your guilt?"

Li Zhigang raised his head and looked directly at Zheng Ci: "I don't know what the crime is."

Zheng Ci raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

Obviously, the two had a lot of conflicts in the past in order to compete for favor.

Although Chen Ying looked gloomy, her words helped Li Zhigang.

"Zheng Shangshu, Li Zhigang is not a criminal official yet."

Yu Qian coughed lightly: "Is there a lawsuit? Such a dispute is inappropriate."

The profession of a prosecutor is definitely different from that of a modern defense lawyer. In fact, this profession did not exist before the Ming Dynasty. In the past, you only needed to find literate scholars to help write pleadings. However, in the Ming Dynasty, the importance of pleadings increased. , and the law became more and more complex, there were lawyers who specialized in writing pleadings for people. From then on, lawyers gradually developed and evolved into professionals who were familiar with the entire legal system such as the "Da Ming Law" and helped people who did not understand the law to litigate. That is, The kind in Stephen Chow's movie "The Inquisitor".

However, since lawyers are a means of making a living, in order to make money they must take on as many cases as possible and win as many cases as possible. In addition, the government does not have relevant professional qualification examinations. The overall quality of the team of lawyers is uneven. Many lawyers like to exaggerate, and "The Law of the Ming Dynasty" ” also stipulates: Those who instigate litigants, add fuel to the lawsuit, and increase the guilt will join the criminals. Therefore, officials actually hate litigants, and now that Li Zhigang’s case is the highest-level three-level joint trial, no litigator dares to stand in for him. Li Zhigang wrote the petition.

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly behind the table: "Your Majesty allowed me to attend, and he also made it clear that Li Zhigang does not have a lawyer. If there is anything you don't understand about the law, you can ask me, and I can also make supplements based on the evidence that Jin Yiwei has and provided. "

As soon as these words came out, Ma Jing, Li Qing, the Minister of Justice, who were sitting on the other side, immediately looked at him sideways.

This means that although he does not have the name of a litigator, he actually has the status of a litigant.

But today's joint trial of the three judicial departments involves the Ministry of Punishment's need to fight for the interests of its own department and the interests of relevant groups. Therefore, despite the pressure from the emperor and the internal opinions of the three judicial departments, the Ministry of Punishment still has to use Li Zhigang in the process. Things come to a card for Jiang Xinghuo.

This does not violate the emperor's wishes, because the emperor does not want Li Zhigang to pass easily.

"Li Zhigang, you are a second-rank official. The laws of the country clearly stipulate that family members and servants of officials above the fourth rank are not allowed to engage in business. How can you be innocent?"

Li Zhigang said: "When my wife was young, my father-in-law had already started a business relationship. When my wife married me in the first year of Hongwu, I was twelve years old at that time. I was still studying and unable to support the family. I relied entirely on my father-in-law's support. If I didn't Is it possible that the family will starve to death due to business? Moreover, my father-in-law has been in business for many years and has obeyed the law. He has never concealed any taxes. He also builds bridges and paves roads on weekdays. He is well-known among the neighbors. How did he become such a profiteer as mentioned in the file? "

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was startled, with surprise in their eyes.

They did not expect that Li Zhigang could actually say these words. It seemed to have no important point, but if you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to find that Li Zhigang has been emphasizing that his father-in-law's business was long before he became an official, and in the first year of Hongwu There was no "Da Ming Law" when they got married, and current laws cannot be used to deal with past matters. This is a common sense in judicial decisions.

"Avoid the important and take the easy!"

Zheng Ci snorted coldly. He understood the emperor's wishes. Today, he was not going to do anything to Li Zhigang, but he had to disgust him. Li Zhigang was different from the two deputies. Zheng Ci did not intend to refute Jiang Xinghuo because he did not want to offend the other party.

"In the 21st year of Hongwu's reign, there must have been the first edition of "Da Ming Law", right? If what happened before can be ignored, then you won the Ming Jing, ordained the Imperial Academy, and served Prince Yiwen, how could you not understand Why are family members not allowed to do business?”

Li Zhigang glanced at Zheng Ci, then shook his head and said, "This is ridiculous."

"How is that ridiculous? You might as well say it." Zheng Ci suppressed some of his smile and said in an indifferent tone.

But Li Zhigang never spoke.

Jiang Xinghuo coughed lightly: "Li Zhigang has some unspeakable secrets."

These were the two words he had said to Li Zhigang in private before.

"In the joint trial of the three judicial departments, if there are any unspeakable secrets, we must say what needs to be said." Chen Ying said helpfully.

Jiang Xinghuo spoke slowly: "Actually, there is one thing I didn't mention. In the 21st year of Hongwu, Li Zhigang divorced his wife because he had no children."

As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden silence in the lobby.

In ancient times, unlike modern times, divorce did not end with going to the Civil Affairs Bureau to obtain a divorce certificate. Instead, there were three divorce modes: divorce, divorce, and divorce.

The usual conditions for divorcing a wife in a divorce letter are "seven things", that is, according to the rules of "Book of Rites", they are "disobedience, childlessness, adultery, jealousy, bad diseases, talkativeness, and theft"; righteousness It is definitely a forced divorce by the government. It will only happen in special circumstances such as beating the wife's parents, buying and selling a wife, bigamy, etc., and the government will force the change of household registration; divorce is a voluntary divorce due to the breakdown of the relationship between the couple, while divorce is not between the husband and wife. If one person has a unilateral idea, both parties must have the idea of ​​​​divorcing, and both parents must agree to divorce, and the household registration can only be changed with the permission of the government.

So, have you discovered the bug in how Jiang Xinghuo got stuck in "The Law of the Ming Dynasty"?

According to the current standards of Ming Dynasty law, there is no such thing as a "divorce certificate". The actual sign of the end of the marriage between the parties is a change of household registration.

Among the three modes of divorce, the second type of "righteousness" is enforced by the government and registered with the government; the third type of "harmony and divorce" is that both parties voluntarily go to the government to register and change their household registration at the same time.

But the problem is that the first type of divorce is not in accordance with the law, but in accordance with traditional moral requirements, that is, the "Seven Outs" of the "Book of Rites". In theory, divorce needs to be reported to the government, but this The prerequisite for this kind of filing is that you need to change your household registration.

But the problem is that the termination of the divorced wife's marriage relationship has been completed the moment the divorce letter appears.

So, can I divorce my wife if I meet the "seven departures" conditions, and we don't change our household registration?

Can.

If we don't change our household registration and still live together, does that count as not divorced?

Doesn’t count.

——Because the triggering standard for divorce is the production of a divorce letter that meets one of the "seven conditions".

There was no "Divorce Certificate" in the Ming Dynasty, so whether it was "Yi Jue" or "Harmony", the divorce was considered successful only after changing the household registration, and both of these must be registered with the government, but "divorce" is not required in theory, as long as Even if you are divorced if you have a divorce letter, changing your household registration is another matter.

Jiang Xinghuo pulled out a piece of yellowed paper from the booklet beside him, which was Li Zhigang's divorce letter.

"The evidence provided by Jin Yiwei."

Well, Jin Yiwei's distressed evidence is guaranteed to be exactly the same as it was more than ten years ago, and the handwriting is the same as Li Zhigang's and is guaranteed to be fake.

Ma Jing, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, couldn't speak at this time, because if Li Zhigang provided it himself, then he could question it, but it was provided by Jin Yiwei, so he couldn't question it.

Li Qing, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, frowned and asked: "Why is it such a coincidence?"

"Family scandals should not be made public."

"Then since you have divorced your wife for more than ten years, why do you live together again?"

“Landlord-Tenant Relationship.”

"Do the landlords and tenants still cook, do laundry, and serve tea and water?"

"It's extra money."

Li Qing's face became uncertain: "Are you fooling the Three Laws Division? Where do you put the Ming Law and Order?"

Li Zhigang sighed: "I don't dare. I just want to remind you, I also have some human feelings in the law. After all, we get along day and night, and even if we divorce our wives without children, there is still some affection in them. Leave a trace in everything and don't do anything wrong." "

There was a deep chill in Li Zhigang's tone, and Li Zhigang glanced at Li Qing secretly.

He is warning Li Qing, if you push me too hard, I will rather die than die, and I will have the means to bury you with you!

Li Qing had some issues with Li Zhigang, but not to the point of being desperate, and Li Qing knew that the emperor wanted to ensure that Li Zhigang passed the test, and he really had no choice. It was just that as a professional judicial official at this time, he was stuck in a bug. A little angry.

"You!" Li Qing stared at Li Zhigang angrily with his eyes widened.

Li Qing was extremely angry and laughed back: "Li Zhigang! Are you playing tricks on the Three Justices? I tell you that this case is very involved, and you can't even hope to get away with it!"

Li Zhigang also said loudly: "I have never thought about getting away with it. My life no longer belongs to me, but to your Majesty and the entire court. As long as I am still an official of your Majesty the next day, the people of Ming Dynasty will not allow any If a person violates the law, he is guilty if he is guilty, and he is not guilty if he is not guilty!"

What he said was so resounding!

Many of the officials of the Third Law Division who were present to observe or record were shocked, because they all knew the details of Li Zhigang. This guy still had energy when he was in office. Now looking at Li Zhigang's appearance, it seems that he is really being pushed into a hurry. Prepare to fight hard, what can you do?

After Chen Ying was silent for a long time, she suddenly asked: "You mean, this is all a misunderstanding?"

Li Zhigang nodded and said: "I don't bother to lie to you. I was wronged. Someone framed me. This is frame-up!"

Zheng Ci stared at Li Zhigang for a long time, and then said slowly: "Whether your confession and evidence are true or false, I will personally verify it. Someone, come, take Li Zhigang down, and we will interrogate you later."

The joint trial of the three judicial divisions had just begun when major changes occurred.

Now that Li Zhigang and his wife have terminated their engagement, Li Zhigang's father-in-law should not worry about whether there are any problems with the business or whether it involves Li Zhigang's use of his power to commit corruption and pervert the law. At least from the point of view of the fact that "relatives of officials of fourth rank and above are not allowed to do business", Li Zhigang is no problem.

After this basic proposition was overturned, the key question came to whether Li Zhigang used his power to have financial dealings with his former father-in-law, and whether his former father-in-law used Li Zhigang's name to have dealings with other officials.

It would undoubtedly be very difficult to use this to convict Li Zhigang, or let him suffer some consequences. At the very least, Zheng Ci had no confidence at all.

"Didn't you always say that Li Zhigang was guilty? What? Don't you intend to bring him to justice?"

Chen Ying was drinking tea in the West Flower Hall, feeling strange.

"This..." Zheng Ci was speechless.

He did say something similar before, but now that the situation was special, he didn't dare to admit it.

But now that the case is becoming more and more difficult, and his legal expertise and ability are obviously insufficient, it is no longer suitable to continue at this time, and Zheng Ci is very slippery, and he does not want to bear the pressure and responsibility at all.

Ke Ren has already been offended. Although he is not afraid of further offending, Zheng Ci sees that he may not be able to reverse the disadvantageous situation. He is afraid that he will be embarrassed in front of Li Zhigang. What should he do?

So, Zheng Ci winked at Ma Jing, who was also in the West Flower Hall, and Ma Jing and Li Qing understood instantly.

Zheng Ci took a sip of tea and suddenly his expression changed drastically. Then he held his stomach and said "Ouch", hunched over his waist and walked out.

"I suddenly have abdominal pain like cramping. If I don't come back with half a stick of incense, I will ask Ma Shilang to temporarily take part in the trial on my behalf."