Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 556 Public Trial
Fengzhou, Shuize County.

On the public trial platform built in front of the government office in the city, a middle-aged man dressed in a Confucian robe and like a scholar was escorted to the platform by two soldiers of the Vanguard Formation.

This man's name is Shi Liangdao. He was a private school teacher hired by the wealthy Zhu family in the city last month to teach the children of the family.

After Shi Liangdao was brought to the public trial platform, he was immediately pressed on the executioner's platform. He suddenly looked panicked and his face turned pale.

On the stage, Chen Mo pointed at Shi Liangdao, then turned to the people of Shuize County below the stage and said in a deep voice: "Should he die?"

The people of Shuize County looked at each other, all thinking about what this man had done in his life, and no one spoke.

After waiting for half a minute, Chen Mo waved his hand and said, "Release him."

Soon, the executioner released Shi Liangdao, and the two soldiers of the Vanguard Formation who had escorted him up also sent him down with a friendly look.

"He was released just like that?" someone whispered. In his opinion, why not give him a trial? Just ask him a few simple questions, and if no one says anything, then release him.

But Shi Liangdao really didn't do anything bad.

He is just a little greedy and stingy. He charges money when you ask him a question, so he doesn't have many friends, but his crime is not punishable by death.

Of course, Chen Mo would not let him go so easily. After arriving in Shuize County, Chen Mo's first thing was to investigate the guilty people in the city. He then discovered that the people of the Zhu family in the city had committed many evil deeds and bribed the local county magistrate to deceive his superiors.

During the period when Prince Huai ruled Fengzhou, the head of the Zhu family donated 100,000 shi of grain to Prince Huai through the local county magistrate, for which he received a plaque written by Prince Huai himself and the title of a great philanthropist.

As a result, the Zhu family became even more arrogant in Shuize County, and the head of the Zhu family even used the name of doing good deeds to wantonly annex land, abduct women, and lend money at high interest rates.

The two brothels and five gambling houses in the city are all owned by the Zhu family.

After targeting the Zhu family, Chen Mo quickly blocked off the Zhu family and collected the crimes committed by the Zhu family members. Only then did he push them to the public trial platform and hand them over to the public for trial.

In other words, Chen Mo knew clearly whether those people in the city were guilty or not, and the reason why he went to the trouble of putting them on a public trial was to uphold the will of the people.

After letting Shi Liangdao go, Chen Mo shouted, "Next one."

Soon, a man wearing a luxurious silk cloak, blue forged shoes, with a fleshy face and a round figure, was pushed onto the public trial platform and pressed onto the execution platform by two soldiers of the Vanguard Formation.

This person was Zhu Gui, the patriarch of the Zhu family, who was also a seventh-rank warrior. As he was pushed up, the people watching below the stage first lost their voices collectively, and then the crowd exploded instantly, as if a huge rock had been thrown into a calm pond.

"It's Zhu. Zhu Gui, why isn't he dead yet?"

Before, the Zhu family was blocked by Chen’s army, and there were rumors outside that Zhu Gui had been killed by Duke Anguo, but I didn’t expect he was still alive.

"Isn't the Duke of Anguo going to let him go too?"

"I heard that Zhu Gui went out of the city with the county magistrate to welcome the Duke of Anguo a few days ago. This public trial is not just a formality, is it?"

"."

After listening to the whispers below and waiting for another half a minute, Chen Mo pointed at Zhu Gui and asked, "Should he die?"

As soon as Chen Mo said this, the people's eyes all turned to Zhu Gui who was pressed on the execution platform. Facing the people's gazes, Zhu Gui glared fiercely, and the people were immediately frightened into silence.

As the saying goes, officials protect each other. When Prince Huai ruled Fengzhou, someone sued Zhu Gui, but the result was that the person who brought the case died, and the defendant became a great philanthropist.

If after they point it out, Zhu Gui is not dead, their lives will be even more difficult.

In a society where cattle and horses were used as a means of transportation, news spread relatively slowly. They might have heard about public trials in other counties, but they had never really understood them.

For example, Chen Mo has a great reputation, but many people still don’t know what kind of person he is. Instead, they are more interested in the gossip about his good wife.

As the saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. This is exactly what it means.

After waiting for a while, seeing that there was still silence below, Chen Mo sighed inwardly.

He has encountered this situation more than once.

The people were oppressed too much. They had no way to seek redress for their grievances and could only swallow their sufferings. Over time, they became numb and accustomed to it. The idea that the Zhu family could not move in gradually became their perception.

They were afraid of being retaliated by the Zhu family, so they had no choice but to let Tuo take the stage.

Chen Mo signaled with his eyes, and then said in a deep voice: "Release him."

The character "人" has not yet completely fallen.

A hoarse voice shouted in the crowd: "He deserves to die."

Suddenly, all the people looked at the person who spoke.

He was an old man who walked slowly to the front of the crowd, then knelt down and began to talk about his grievances.

Because the old man was dressed rather miserable and was telling a tragic story, he immediately aroused the sympathy and resonance of the crowd.

After the old man finished speaking, he kowtowed and said, "Please, Lord Anguo, make the decision for me."

Although the people were emboldened by the old man's words, most of them were still afraid of Zhu Gui and did not stand up for the second person.

For this reason, Chen Mo could only let the second one come out.

A haggard, sad man shouted, "He deserves to die."

The man also told about his grievances.

During the turbulent years, because the family was really struggling to make ends meet, the man mortgaged his land and borrowed some money from the Zhu family.

When he recovered and collected the money to pay it back, he found that the money he used to repay was not even enough to pay the interest on the money he had borrowed.

Even the mortgaged land was barely enough to pay the interest.

In order to make him pay back the money, the Zhu family forced him to use his wife and children to pay off the debt.

When he refused, the Zhu family forcibly captured his wife and daughter-in-law and sold them to a brothel to pay off their debts.

His son went to the government office to report the case and seek justice, but on the way back he was beaten to death.

Although this person was arranged by Chen Mo, the things he said were all real things that happened.

With two people taking the lead, and Zhu Gui having done countless evil things, what they said also reminded the people of the past when they had been bullied by Zhu Gui.

Finally, everyone stopped being silent.

They were filled with righteous indignation, their eyes flashing with anger, and they shouted, "He deserves to die."

"kill him."

"Cut him into pieces."

"Duke Anguo, please make the decision for us."

"..."

Zhu Gui, who was pressed on the execution platform, was afraid.

To be honest, he had never been so scared since the moment he was caught by Chen Jun.

But the way the people looked at him at this moment made him feel scared and his whole body went cold.

The people were no longer afraid of him.

Zhu Gui struggled fiercely, but his Dantian had long been destroyed and he was held down by the executioner, unable to move at all. With a shout of "behead" from Chen Mo, he was killed.

The executioner raised his knife and a round human head fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)