Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 471

Fang Jingzhai first went to the teahouse outside Guangchumen in the morning, and during the chat, he took the opportunity to ask some tea drinkers about Jiao Yingyuan.Sure enough, none of those people said anything good about him. They all said that he was a gambler, and he even sold his ancestral home to pay off his debts. He was really a prodigal.

In the afternoon, the subordinates he sent to inquire around Jiao's mother's residence also came back to report, saying that whether it was the shopkeepers in the surrounding shops or the neighbors who sold vegetables, everyone said that Wang was upright and kind, but since she grew up The son started to fight the lawsuit, and the old lady went to the Yamen to testify several times, and her health was not as good as before.

By this time, Fang Jingzhai had decided in his mind that Jiao Yingyuan's character was too bad, regardless of whether the case was a false accusation or not.In his opinion as an old criminal name, Jiao Yingyuan dared to make false accusations repeatedly before, which has a lot to do with the imperial court's handling of criminal names by "grasping the big and letting go of the small".

There is a very notable feature in litigation cases in the Qing Dynasty, that is, the phenomenon of false accusations is very common.There is a saying in the folks about litigation that "no lie, no statement".The complainants are either for profit, for revenge, or to win the lawsuit. They often exaggerate or even make up indiscriminately during the lawsuit.

These days, a lawsuit usually goes through four steps from beginning to end, namely release, approval, trial and review.A lawsuit is not complete until these four steps are completed.The announcement of civil cases is only accepted every three, six or nine days, and the government will not accept the other days.

The judicial system of the Qing Dynasty followed the principle of "precautionary punishment" in the previous Ming Dynasty. In order to prevent officials adjudicating cases from abusing punishment, the Qing government formulated a very strict review system, that is, cases of more than imprisonment have to be approved by the Judiciary and the Ministry of Punishment. Reexamination, after the reexamination is passed, the corresponding penalty can be executed.

Simultaneously with the review system, there is a stricter official accountability system, that is, if a higher-level judicial official finds that a lower-level official has made a wrong judgment during the review process, then the lower-level official will be severely punished, ranging from fines. If you are dismissed from office, you will move your head.

In fact, if the law is enforced impartially, that's fine, but the key point is that lower-level officials themselves are not clean. They would rather catch the big and let go of the small in civil cases, and be punished lightly, rather than take the slightest risk.

For cases of false accusations, prefectural and county officials often do not make judgments according to the law in order not to cause unnecessary trouble when trying cases, and most of the false accusers are punished lightly, which is why Jiao Yingyuan's previous three false accusations were all admonished.

As a result, in order to get attention to their cases, ordinary people often disguise minor cases as serious cases in order to get more attention.Because serious cases such as murder, robbery, and treason must be accepted whether the local officials are willing or not.

However, there was another problem that puzzled Fang Jingzhai. As a prison student, Jiao Yingyuan should understand the consequences of false accusations of treason.He did not bring up serious cases in the three previous false accusations, so why did he accuse his cousin Jiao Xun of collaborating with other literati and his three younger brothers this time?
You must know that the punishment for false accusers in the "Laws of the Qing Dynasty" is very heavy. Basically, if you falsely accuse someone of a crime, he will be doubled for that crime.Rebellion is a matter of great importance from the court to the local government. Once it is found out that it is a false accusation, the person who made the accusation will not escape a lingering end.

After he returned to the government office in the evening to report to Ma Huiyu, Ma Zhifu issued a ticket the next morning and wrote an official letter, which was sent to the Jiangdu county government office by his subordinates to arrest Jiao Yingyuan.

At this point, whether it is Ma Huiyu or Fang Jingzhai, they still want to follow the principle of making big things small. After all, Jiao Xun's wife is the cousin of Xinke Hanlin Ruan Yuan, so they dare not be careless.

Unexpectedly, after Fang Jingzhai interrogated his subordinates with Jiao Yingyuan back, the matter turned around 180 degrees, and Jiao Xun's plot to rebel was very likely to be true.But the reason why Jiao Yingyuan reported made Fang Jingzhai amazed. He had lived most of his life, and he had never seen such a vicious and shameless person!
It is said that in February of this year, Jiao Yingyuan was really poor and bored, so poor that he couldn't live anymore, so he wanted to sell the public housing in the part of the clan where he lived.

His behavior is purely whimsical.The ancestral house is the root of a family, even if the land is sold, the house cannot be sold, not to mention mother Wang and three younger brothers, and even Jiao Xun and other relatives who heard about it all disagree, making Jiao Yingyuan feel ashamed.

Ten days ago, Jiao Xun's mother heard about this and asked Jiao Xun to donate 150 taels of silver to his cousin.Jiao's mother thought that she was going to go north with her son anyway, so she might as well help out before leaving, so as not to make it difficult for the sister-in-law Wang's side.

Jiao Yingyuan was somewhat surprised when he got the money, so he bought some gifts and went to his cousin's house.His purpose is not as simple as thanking him, but to see if he can get more money. Although 150 taels of silver is a lot, it is not enough to cover his previous debts.

Unexpectedly, when he went to Jiao Xun's house, Jiao Xun was not at home.Mother Jiao asked her servants to call her son back, and at the same time told Jiao Yingyuan to go back after dinner.

After March, there were only three servants left in Jiao Xun's family, and the others were dismissed years ago.The book boy followed Jiao Xun out, there was a gatekeeper in front, and a maid in the backyard, which ended up giving Jiao Yingyuan an opportunity.This guy actually slipped into his cousin's study and rummaged up and down, intending to find something valuable.

Unexpectedly, he didn't find the valuable plaything, so he turned out a booklet on the bookshelf, not to mention that the content in it was all about the history of the late Ming Dynasty and the anti-Qing Dynasty, and there was a paper sign in the middle, which was written on it. It is Jiao Xun's handwriting, which reads "Once you hold the scissors, I will be half bald; the Chinese are barbarians, and life is worse than death."

Jiao Yingyuan was taken aback by this, he hurriedly put the booklet back, only took the paper sign and put it in his arms, then quietly left the study.When Jiao Xun came back in the evening, Jiao Yingyuan brought up the matter of borrowing money.Jiao Xun was furious when he heard this, he scolded his cousin and kicked him out.

After returning home, Jiao Yingyuan became more and more angry, and felt that he had nowhere to go, so "new hatred and old hatred" were superimposed, and the evil of human nature was completely aroused in despair.

He decided to use Jiao Xun's handwritten anti-poetry as a breakthrough to concoct a big case and use the hands of the government to launch a "punishment of the nine clans", dragging all those who have faults, including his mother, brothers, and clansmen, to death. Go to hell and be buried with him!
As for the fact that Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji were also involved in the rebellion that he mentioned in the anonymous letter, there is no real evidence, but thinking that his cousin has always had a good relationship with these two people, so he thought it would be a good idea to drag one into the water, but the result was still He was so right.

The matter was so important that Fang Jingzhai took people to Jiao Yingyuan's house to take out the hidden paper, and then reported it directly to Ma Huiyu, the magistrate.Ma Huiyu was also extremely astonished after hearing this, but he was also a Jinshi, and he was a member of the Imperial Academy, so he trembled with anger at Jiao Yingyuan's shameless behavior.

The case has developed to this point, and it is no longer a simple false accusation.Besides, the two of them didn't know about Jiao Xun's relationship with Beihai Town, so Ma Huiyu first sent someone to send a complaint to Jiangsu Governor Changlin, and at the same time sent a large number of soldiers and government officials to lock up all the people involved in the false accusation letter and put them in prison.

The governor's yamen of Jiangsu is located in Suzhou, only more than 200 miles away from Yangzhou. Governor Changlin was also quite surprised after receiving the report from Yangzhou.Now the imperial court has repeatedly fought and failed in the north. Although it is covered up in every possible way, it cannot escape the eyes and ears of the world.Seeing that Qianlong's Longevity Festival was approaching, such a thing happened under the rule, so Changlin reported it to Liangjiang Governor Shulin, and at the same time decided to go to Yangzhou to handle the case in person.

The reason why he dared to make such a decision was because he already knew that the Taiwan lord was deeply involved in a lawsuit, and he was afraid that his official position would be lost.Moreover, due to the power structure of the governor-general system in the Qing Dynasty, the governor was not an official of the governor-general, but a parallel relationship.

Not to mention how Nanjing will arrange it, after Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji were detained in the government office, the city of Yangzhou exploded immediately.

After Jiang Fan learned of the case through his entrusting person, he was astonished.He thought hard for a long time, first wrote two letters, and asked his servants to go to Baoying and Changzhou respectively, and report to Liu Taigong, Duan Yucai and Hong Liangji.Then, he left Yangzhou overnight by boat, planning to go to Qingjiangpu for help.

Unlike Jiao Xun, who was young and fond of staying at home, Jiang Fan's family has practiced medicine for generations. The Tianruitang Pharmacy in Duozi Street belongs to Jiang's family.

When they passed Xuzhuang back from Beihai Town last year, Wang Changsheng informed Jiang Fan, Hong Liangji and others of Qingjiangpu's contact point and contact method.

On the second day after Jiang Fan's departure, Ma Huiyu, the magistrate of Yangzhou, received a reply from the governor Changlin, asking him to interrogate the criminal first, and then start the trial after the inspector and governor arrive.

Because Jiao Xun, Zhong Huai, and Huang Chengji are all well-known, Ma Huiyu wrote the papers himself, while others, such as Jiao Yingyuan's mother Wang, three brothers, and several creditors, were handed over to Jiangdu County and Ganquan County respectively. trial.Jiangdu County and Ganquan County cannot absolve themselves of the blame for such a big incident under the rule, so they don't care about anything at this meeting, just want to investigate thoroughly.

Jiao Xun just said that he was wronged. He was an "otaku", and because he lent money to his cousin Jiao Yingyuan, he was falsely accused by him for no reason.It's really ridiculous to be biting yourself for rebellion right now.And friends Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji have nothing to do with this matter.

Ma Huiyu knew the whole story long ago, so he didn't talk nonsense at this time, and directly took out the booklet copied from Jiao Xun's home and the bookmark with Gu Yanwu's poems and essays.

"Look! This is the bookmark with anti-poetry found by your cousin Jiao Yingyuan in your study, and the anti-book that the guards found in your study!" Ma Huiyu patted Xingmu and shouted: "Jiao Li Tang, my government can immediately ask Xuezheng to change your reputation, and you will be punished! Nianer has a reputation for talent, so he is polite to others."

Jiao Xun was dumbfounded when he saw it. This booklet was brought back from Beihai Town, and because he saw the content of the "cut hair order" in the book, he was inexplicably sad and indignant, so he couldn't help writing Gu Yanwu's "broken hair order" on the bookmark. poetry".At this moment, his mind was in chaos, and he couldn't figure out how Jiao Yingyuan could get this bookmark.

"Jiao Litang, quickly recruit from the truth!" Ma Huiyu squinted his eyes, stroked his beard and said, "Haven't you heard the saying 'Po Family County Magistrate, Mie Men Fu Yin'? The lives of hundreds of members of the Jiao family are in danger , all in your mind."

Ma Huiyu saw that Jiao Xun's forehead was sweating, so he knew that his words had worked, and continued: "Since I took office, I have heard that you are filial to your mother. If that is the case, why don't you think about your mother and wife? You have fame, but they don't have orders. Under the three trees, what can you ask for? Even the stubborn ones can't make it through."

The so-called "three woods" are actually torture, also called pinching sticks.Some pinched their fingers and some pinched their ankles. For female prisoners, they pinched their fingers.

Regardless of the small five logs, they are far more powerful than sticks. As the saying goes, "ten fingers connect to the heart", the pain caused by the fingers is unbearable.As long as it is used, it can make the tortured soul fly away.

Ji Xiaolan once recorded in her notebook "Luanyang Xiaoxialu" that a daughter-in-law who was framed by her mother-in-law committed suicide in court because she couldn't stand the torture of finger-pointing.

Because this kind of punishment is too harsh, it is clearly stipulated in the "Laws of the Qing Dynasty" that the principal or accessory of a major case, after repeated investigations, still refuses to tell the truth, or the testimonies are inconsistent before and after, only the use of the stick is allowed; Criminals are not allowed to use pincers.In addition, the pincers are not allowed to be used repeatedly, and are only allowed to be used once on the same prisoner.

As soon as these words came out, Jiao Xun was sweating profusely and trembling all over.Ma Zhifu picked up the teacup and drank it slowly.

The so-called thing hurts its kind, in fact, Ma Huiyu feels very sorry in his heart.If something like this happens, Ruan Yuan, who is an official in Beijing, will definitely be implicated.Although he might not be involved in a treason case, his official career would be difficult if he could.

A quarter of an hour later, Jiao Xun, who was drenched in sweat, knew that he could not escape this catastrophe.Although he had planned to take refuge in Beihai Town with his family before, he was not a tenacious "revolutionary fighter" after all.Furthermore, Jiao Xun has been immersed in learning all these years, and he doesn't have much experience in human heart accidents.

"Okay! I'll recruit. Just please don't force confessions from old mothers and weak wives. They don't know anything."

Ma Huiyu's face was bright, and he raised his hand and asked with the booklet, "Where did this book come from?"

Jiao Xun said sorry to Jiang Fan and the others in his heart, and then said sadly: "The students got it from Beihai Town."

"Pfft!" As soon as the words came out, Ma Zhifu took a sip of tea and sprayed it all on the face of the secretary next to him.

"You, you..." Ma Huiyu stood up tremblingly, pointed his halberd and glared angrily, "You mean the North Sea Pirate?!"

"Yes"

I am a mother!Ma Zhifu's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He had been an official in the Ministry of Officials for many years, and had constant correspondence with colleagues and relatives in the capital, so he knew everything about what happened in Tianjin last year.At this moment, he hated that Jiao Yingyuan to death in his heart. Beihai town was pulled out of a false accusation case.

If he wrote an anti-poetry or printed an anti-book, Ma Huiyu would not be polite at all, and would directly call Xuezheng to overthrow Jiao Xun's reputation, and then put him in the shackles and put him on death row.

But the North Sea Pirates had big iron boats. If they threatened the coastal area again because of this matter, which shocked the emperor and affected Qianlong's Longevity Festival, Ma Huiyu's [-] heads would not be enough to chop off.

Knowing so early is useless!He didn't dare to ask any more about this matter, and let them decide what to do when the governor and the governor arrived.

Thinking of this, Ma Huiyu said to the yamen servant in the signing room: "Come here! Send the prisoner Jiao Litang to the prison. Don't belittle his old mother and wife. Provide as much food as possible, but visits are not allowed."

"Whoo!"

　Please don't doubt the madness of human nature. The false accusations mentioned in these two chapters are based on real cases.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)