Master Yuan, start!

As for the local level, there is no such thing as a three-court trial, only a three-court interrogation.

During the interrogation in the three courts, the chief officer did not have to wear official uniform, and the people were not allowed to watch, which was quite similar to the "closed trial" in later courts.

It shouldn't be a big deal if tenants abandon their farmland.

According to the usual practice, Song Qing would not even need to show up in person, he could just find a lawyer to conduct a simple interrogation in the third hall.

But since Jiu Yansheng Duke has been invited here today, the scale of this trial cannot be small. The lobby of the Governor Wu Yamen is open to the public to allow as many people as possible to stand in the courtyard.

Even so, the open space outside the court was packed with people, and the door frame of the yamen was almost squeezed off by the mad crowd rushing in.

Some even climbed over the wall to watch, just to catch a glimpse of this once-in-a-century scene.

Zhang, Lu and Tan used all their strength to barely squeeze into the crowd at the government office.

Why is it so lively? It’s because Lord Song Qing had already spread the news that the case would be tried in the lobby today.

Originally, this news was only circulated in a small circle, after all, not everyone was interested in judging the case.

But ever since they knew that Duke Yansheng would also be attending the trial, the people's enthusiasm for participation has continued to rise. After all, they can choose not to hear the case, but they cannot avoid seeing Duke Yansheng.

Since ancient times, everything is inferior except reading.

Duke Yansheng is a descendant of Confucius. If one is lucky enough to see him and let his sons and nephews touch him, perhaps they will be enlightened and pass the imperial examination to become a juren.

Therefore, the people gathered behind the procession of Duke Yansheng as they paraded through the city, and surrounded the government office in layers.

Song Qing had already prepared for the situation and sent yamen runners to maintain order instead of dispersing the crowd.

After a while, Song Qing walked into the hall with a bad look on his face, and Xu Shichang followed closely behind him, standing silently beside Yuan Xiangcheng.

In the back hall, Xu Shichang explained to Song Qing how Kong Lingyi had humiliated him. Song Qing was so angry that his beard flew all over the place and he wanted to beat Kong Lingyi up.

So after coming out, Song Qing, who recognized Kong Lingyi's true face, naturally didn't have a good face towards him.

Sitting behind the trial table with anger in his heart, Song Qing slammed the gavel in his hand.

"Ascension!"

"Mighty... Powerful... Jiu Sier4 Lin5 Transfer Group:"

"Bring the plaintiff and the defendant!"

Following Song Qing's order, the Kong family's steward and tenants were taken to the court by yamen runners armed with water and fire staffs.

"Chinese courts seem to care more about momentum and majesty. The ceremonial guards need seven or eight people to carry them." Arthur Morgan muttered to himself while sketching.

Song Qing paid no attention to Arthur Morgan standing beside him. He directly picked up the appeal on the table and read aloud:

"The plaintiff, Kong Cheng, filed a lawsuit with this governor last month alleging that Kong Zhengchu had failed to fulfill his agreement with the owner and abandoned the land, resulting in a total crop failure of five mu this year. Is this true?"

"Sir, it's absolutely true." Kong Cheng, the housekeeper of the Kong Mansion, saw Kong Lingyi beside him and thought that he had a backer, so he immediately cried out in a loud voice to protest his injustice.

"Sir Song, although I am called the steward of the Kong Mansion, I have only contracted the farmland in the countryside of Qufu and help the Kong Mansion manage it.

But Kong Zhengchu, who clearly rented five mu of land, left it uncultivated this year and even persuaded others to do the same!"

Having said that, the housekeeper Kong Cheng glared at Kong Zhengchu who was also kneeling on the ground.

"Because of this incident, I was punished by the chief steward. I was so angry that I made inquiries from many sources and finally sent people to Yantai to capture him."

The housekeeper Kong Cheng shouted very loudly, and the onlookers understood that the defendant had deliberately abandoned the land and that was why they came to arrest him.

The spectators all have their own standards in their minds and think this is reasonable.

As for Zhang, Lu and Tan, although they felt that the housekeeper was rude, it was indeed understandable and not an unforgivable mistake.

Yuan Xiangcheng and Xu Shichang had indifferent expressions and did not say anything. They just watched the housekeeper crying quietly.

Kong Lingyi sat calmly on the armchair, looking as if he had mastered everything.

As for Song Qing, he was already familiar with the case and was not moved at all after hearing the accusation: Zero

"Kong Cheng, I always prioritize evidence when handling cases. How can I trust you with just a complaint without any evidence?"

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"Yes, of course there is!" Kong Cheng felt around his body with his hands and took out a piece of paper with serious wrinkles and words written on both sides.

"Master Song, please take a look at this contract."

The paper was a little yellowed, and it looked like it was quite old. Song Qing looked at it carefully.

"In the 2th year of the Qianlong reign, there were two mu of fertile land on the south bank of the Xiaoliu River in Daxue Village, Xingbu Township, Qufu County. It was sold by Kong Pengxing to the Kong family. The land will continue to be cultivated by Kong Pengxing. He must pay 100 kilograms of grain annually, and no arrears are allowed.

In the ninth year of Jiaqing, one mu of good farmland was sold by Kong Wenhe to the Kong family. The land is still cultivated by Kong Wenhe, and he is required to pay 1 kilograms of grain every year without default.

In the second year of the Daoguang reign, one mu of good farmland was sold to the Confucius Mansion and continued to be cultivated by Kong Yongshou. He was required to pay 1 kilograms of grain annually, and no arrears were allowed.

The front of the paper ends here. There is a red fingerprint after each paragraph, which seems to be true.

Song Qing looked to the other side and continued to read aloud:

"In the first year of the Guangxu reign, the Confucius Mansion had five mu of fertile land. Considering Kong Yuanliang's good character, we granted him the land to farm on his own. He was required to pay 5 kilograms of grain annually, and no arrears were allowed.

In the 5th year of the Guangxu reign, mu of good farmland was granted to Kong Zhengchu and no default was allowed.

It was not until the end that the name of the defendant Kong Zhengchu appeared.

On the reverse side, only the first paragraph has fingerprints, while the second paragraph is text without fingerprints.

When Song Qing finished reading, the housekeeper Kong Cheng straightened his chest and raised his head, looking proud:

"Sir Song, this is the farming contract signed by Kong Zhengchu's ancestors. They first sold part of the land to the Kong family and rented out part of it for farming.

By the first year of the Guangxu reign, after Kong Zhengchu's grandfather sold all 5 mu of land, Kong Zhengchu's family had become landless.

However, the Kong family was kindhearted and, considering that Kong Zhengchu's family had been cultivating this land for generations, they gave these five mu of land to Kong Zhengchu's father, Kong Yuanliang, to cultivate."

So that's what happened. The onlookers understood, and Arthur Morgan also understood that today's trial was a land dispute case.

These 5 acres of land originally belonged to the defendant Kong Zhengchu's family, but their ancestors kept selling the land, which led them to become tenants step by step.

By the time Kong Zhengchu gave birth to his father, his family had no land left and could only continue to rent the 5 acres from the Kong Mansion.

It seems that the butler is indeed right.

Thinking of this, Arthur Morgan took out another piece of white paper and wrote, "The fact that Chinese land contracts have been able to continue unbroken for over a hundred years is truly a commendable tradition."

However, Zhang Taiyan and Tan Sitong frowned. They saw the difficult survival of the Chinese rural people from the land deeds that had lasted for more than a hundred years.

"The defendant, Kong Zhengchu," Song Qing turned his gaze to the other person kneeling in the hall. "Do you know anything about this land deed?"

Kong Zhengchu withdrew his gaze from Yuan Xiangcheng, took a deep breath, and answered loudly: "I know."

"If you know that, why don't you cultivate the land?"

"Master Song, please check carefully. I did not sign the last paragraph!"

Not signed?

The people outside the hall became interested and thought the case had been settled, and some even dispersed. However, they did not expect that there would be repetitions.

Although he already knew the truth, Song Qing still pretended to say, "Yes, it is true that I didn't sign it."

Housekeeper Kong Cheng was afraid that Song Qing would misunderstand, so he quickly explained:

"Sir, these five mu of land have been passed down from generation to generation by Kong Zhengchu. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather have all farmed it their entire lives.

Even if he didn't sign, Kong Zhengchu would have to farm even if he didn't want to. There's no reason for him to abandon farming!"

After saying this, fearing that Song Qing might not believe him, the steward Kong Cheng explained, "Kong Zhengchu's father also started farming before signing the agreement.

If the land deed was strictly enforced, Kong Zhengchu's father would not be able to cultivate the 5 acres of land before signing it. If so, his family would starve to death on the streets.

It was the generosity of the Lord of the Kong Mansion that allowed them to rent and farm even without a signature, which gave Kong Zhengchu and his family a way to survive."

"Oh?" Song Qing raised his eyebrows and asked deliberately, "So, the defendant Kong Zhengchu should thank the Kong family?"

"That's right, Master Song!" Butler Kong Cheng hurriedly replied, "This land deed was passed down to me by my father. At the end of the 15th year of the Guangxu reign, Kong Zhengchu's father, Kong Yuanliang, passed away.

I planned to call Kong Zhengchu home, write a new contract, and prepare to sign it.

However, Kong Zhengchu used the excuse of mourning for his deceased father to avoid coming, so he has been delayed until now."

The people outside the hall seemed to be thinking about something, but most of them still felt that the defendant Kong Zhengchu should abide by the rules.

"What nonsense!"

Song Qing shouted loudly, threw the yellowed land deed in his hand into the air, and slammed the gavel again, scaring the onlookers.

6What? Is the title deed fake?

"Kong Zhengchu," Song Qing said gently, looking at the defendant, "Tell me in detail what you said to me the other day."

"Yes, Mr. Song!" The defendant Kong Zhengchu showed joy on his face, kowtowed heavily, stood up and said with a sob:

"The land deeds are indeed genuine. Our ancestors suffered greatly from floods, droughts, and locust disasters, and were forced to sell their land in order to survive.

2 Although in the past two hundred years, my family has gone from owning only 5 mu of arable land to having no arable land at all, this is all due to bad fate, and I, Kong Zhengchu, don’t blame it.

However, the last time the contract was signed, it was the early years of the Guangxu period when there was a drought throughout the country and the land production decreased. Not only did the Confucius Mansion not reduce or exempt the grain rent, but it also required an additional 10 kilograms of grain per mu, and also forced my father to sign the contract. This was forced tenancy.

My father was weak by nature and was eventually forced to agree.

Just to meet this 10 kilograms of food shortage, he went around asking for help every year. He was exhausted for 15 years and eventually died of illness!

At this point, Kong Zhengchu's true feelings were revealed, and he asked loudly while holding back his tears:

"After my father died of exhaustion, I happened to learn that Lord Yuan was recruiting civilians to farm outside the Great Wall, so I planned to go to Yantai to take a boat.

It's also arable land, and the land tax outside the customs is extremely low. Why should I cultivate these 5 mu of thin land?"

After hearing the defendant Kong Zhengchu tell the truth, most of the onlookers began to sympathize with him, and Zhang Taiyan couldn't help but shout out.

“Yes, we can’t plow!”

N Zhang, Lu, and Tan, no matter who they are, their family background is far better than Kong Zhengchu, even Zhang Taiyan's family is a prominent family in Jiangnan.

: But now, they actually empathized with a farmer whom they never paid attention to in the past.

"Snapped!"

The gavel rang out, and Song Qing threatened, "Silence! If you disturb the court again, I will drag you out!"

Although he said so, Song Qing had no intention of driving him away. He turned to look at Yuan Xiangcheng. Their eyes met, and Yuan Xiangcheng's expression was full of approval.

As for Kong Lingyi on the other side, his expression had changed from initial calmness to solemnity.