Han official!

Chapter 10 Judicial Process in the Han Dynasty

The Yuan family of Yangdi was a heroic clan. Officials and common people in the county all treated Yuan Tu as a guest of honor. Later, due to his outstanding fighting and sword skills, he became a guest of Dou Ying, the Marquis of Weiqi, and served as a chief of the Chang'an Duting. He was always arrogant and everyone gave him face.

Unexpectedly, Yuantu was killed by Guo Jie's sneak attack and was slandered as a group of bandits who stole the tiger.

When Cangshoufu and the other two walked into the courtroom and saw Guo Jie standing beside them, they all looked at him with resentment, their minds filled with thoughts of revenge.

The kitchen steward's face was bruised and swollen, and his linen jacket and trousers were a little torn, as if he had been beaten by the warehouse steward and his two companions.

"you"

Zhang Qian was furious. Since he came to Chang'an, he had owed a lot of money on credit, but the cook had never asked for it back. He was grateful, but when he saw the cook being beaten, he became furious.

"Be careful what you say."

Guo Jie tugged at Zhang Qian's sleeve and whispered, "Be careful of flogging."

The second step in a trial is to interrogate the prisoner.

Interrogation is the same as trial.

Anyone who dared to make a loud noise during interrogation would be beaten with a whip or bamboo board on the back and buttocks.

The Han Dynasty was a country ruled by law and abolished some of the tortures of the Qin Dynasty. However, various punishments were still severe. Not to mention Zhang Qian, even "high-ranking officials" like Cang Sefu, who were equivalent to deputy chiefs of police stations, would be severely whipped if they dared to disrupt the interrogation.

As long as the law is broken, both officials and citizens will be punished.

Just like the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty liked to squeeze the rich and collect taxes from them, the powerful people who were relocated also included officials. Officials had plundered a lot of property, and no matter it was legal or illegal, they were all exploited and relocated to the mausoleum.

"Humph!"

Zhang Qian snorted indignantly and glared at Cangshefu and the other two, thinking that sooner or later he would help Chushefu get justice.

To repay the chef for taking care of him.

"Original grub."

Zhang Tang stared at him with a pair of sharp eyes. "You know Yuan Tu better than I do. Since becoming the head of Gaojie, he has oppressed the common people. I know whether he stole Guo Jie's tiger today. If you tell the truth, I can allow you to buy a title to atone for your sin. If not, I will sentence you to death by crucifixion for the crime of gang robbery!"

Zhen, splitting the body and causing death.

A form of torture.

Yuan Yu was not afraid. When he was sitting in the dressing room waiting for interrogation, a trusted clerk beside the Chang'an Wei told him that as long as he waited for the Chang'an Wei to come back, he could turn the theft into helping to carry away the tiger and send it to the government temple to ask for a reward.

When Guo Jie suddenly killed people, he was not just killing a group of bandits, but definitely killing court officials. He could not escape the fate of being executed in public.

Yuan Yu glanced at the sun outside and said in a deep voice, "Although the pavilion chief has a rather frivolous temperament, he comes from a family of heroes. When he recognized the man who had fought and killed the tiger as Guo Jie from Chen County, he was very happy and told the others in the pavilion that a true hero had finally arrived in Chang'an."

The Chang'an Wei would go out during the afternoon (9-11 a.m.) and would be back at noon (11-13 p.m.) at the latest.

According to the current time, it will take at most half an incense stick of time to see the Chang'an Wei.

By then, Guo Jie will die!

"The captain respected the heroic hero Guo Jie."

Yuan Yu's face was filled with sorrow. "Brother even told me to prepare the finest wine and food to feast Guo Jie. How could I possibly go and steal his tiger? Besides, even if brother had taken the tiger, facing Guo Jie, who was skilled in swordsmanship, he wouldn't have walked up to him and stretched out his neck to be chopped off, foolishly asking to be killed!"

"nonsense!"

Zhang Qian was furious: "You are such a liar, and every word you say is a lie. Not a single word is true. Guo Jie didn't tell me his name, so how could Yuan Tu know him? Could it be that Yuan Tu has been to Chen County?"

The two started arguing.

Zhang Tang looked at Guo Jie, who had remained silent, and asked, "Have you ever met Yuan Tu? Or has Yuan Tu ever been to Chen County? Although Yang Di and Chen County belong to different prefectures, they are both located in Guandong and are not far apart."

"Never!"

Guo Jie replied affirmatively, "Zhang County Lieutenant is familiar with the rules of the knights-errant. Whenever a noble clan from Yangdi comes to visit, the knights-errant from Chen County will immediately inform me. As the local heroes, they must prepare a feast of fine wine and food."

Zhang Tang nodded. Guo Jie's words were more in line with the truth. Just as he was about to question Yuan Yu again, he noticed something was wrong with Yuan Yu's eyes, which kept looking out at the sun.

It seems like waiting for someone to come.

Zhang Tang was startled and quickly guessed that Yuan Zhu was delaying time in order to wait for the Chang'an Wei. If he was really delayed by him, the Chang'an Wei would come.

The outcome of today's interrogation is bound to be uncertain.

"Original grub!"

Zhang Tang scolded him, "Don't even think about waiting for the Chang'an Wei to overturn your verdict. Lord Zhao has already handed the trial over to me. No one else can help. Don't even think of using some powerful relative to pressure me. I, Zhang Tang, will not be complicit in this corruption!"

Yuan Yu's mood instantly sank to the bottom. He knew that what Zhang Tang said was true and that using power to pressure others would not work in front of him.

He hates it.

Why did I happen to meet Zhang Tang, who is so smelly and stubborn?

If it were any official in the Chang'an Temple, they would take the initiative to protect the guests of Weiqi Hou Dou Ying without saying anything.

Zhang Tang's sharp eyes pierced Yuan Yu's heart. He said coldly, "You've lived in Chang'an for quite some time. You must have heard of my reputation as someone who can solve any difficult case. I urge you not to delay. I'll give you one last moment to confess all your crimes. Otherwise, you won't even have the chance to buy a title to atone for your sins. I'll sentence the three of you to death by crucifixion and treat you as a gang of bandits!"

Yuan Yu's heart trembled, remembering that since Zhang Tang started to investigate cases, there had never been a wrongful conviction. There were also miraculous rumors about his trial of rats when he was a child, which were like the howling of a fox or the hiding of a book in a fish's belly.

Born to judge cases.

Yuan Zhu is more superstitious about ghosts and gods than ordinary people.

He was afraid.

I don't want to lose the opportunity to buy a title and atone for my sins.

However, before Yuan Gu could confess his crimes, the innkeeper and the stableman could not bear Zhang Tang's piercing gaze and confessed all his crimes first.

"Mr. Zhang, this is unjust. It was Yuan Yu who said two tigers were worth five horses. Guo Jie was dressed like a commoner, so if they just took them away, there would be no way to seek justice."

"Yes, it was Yuan Yu who came up with the idea to steal Guo Jie's tiger. Who would have thought that the person who fought the tiger was Guo Jie from Chen County? He was so brave that he chopped off the head of the pavilion chief with one blow."

"you!"

Yuan Tu's face turned pale with anger. "Nonsense! This was clearly Yuan Tu's idea alone. How could it be my idea to devour the tiger that devoured Guo Jie? Stop talking nonsense."

No one expected the outcome of the interrogation.

After Zhang Tang interrogated them with just a few words, Cang Sefu and the other two began to accuse themselves of their own crimes and to shirk their responsibilities, preparing to put all the blame on the dead man.

Zhang Tang frowned and looked at the clerk beside him. "Record everything in the official record. The trial is almost over. You can have the Yang Di Yuan family gather enough money and go to the official temple in Chang'an to buy a title to atone for their sins and redeem Yuan Lu and the other three."

He saw what Yuan Zhu and the other two were thinking, so he deliberately made excuses and shirked responsibility so that the case could be closed sooner and he could be released from Chang'an Prison one day earlier.

As for the purpose of rushing out.

Zhang Tang glanced at Guo Jie who was standing next to him, most likely wanting to take revenge on Guo Jie. He had to chop off his head and wash the reputation of the Yangdi Yuan clan with blood in order to restore the reputation of the heroic clan.

The interrogation is over.

It means reading the interrogation and announcing the official verdict.

Zhang Tang said: "The interrogation is: Yuan Zhu and other officials stole the tiger. The official in charge is: Yuan Zhu, the warehouse steward."

The final sentence was beheading.

Guo Jie couldn't help but sigh. The Han Dynasty had strict laws and punishments for officials who abused their positions to seek benefits. Three deputy chiefs of police stations embezzled hundreds of thousands of yuan in total, and each of them was directly shot for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan.

In the Han Dynasty, those officials who embezzled tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan would not only have their entire families executed, but their entire clans within three generations would also be exterminated, and the officials themselves would also be tortured. Officials would not be allowed to die easily.

(End of this chapter)