prosperous age

Chapter 323 Chapter 322 Handle
The days of the trial are boring, and the sufferer is constantly summoned to the court to cry, and then the criminals he accused are mentioned, and the witnesses and evidences are presented one by one.

At first, Wei Guangde watched with great interest, learning how to adjudicate the case, but soon he found that both He Qian and Bai Qichang were conducting the adjudication process in a perfunctory manner, basically ignoring the criminal's defense.

But it's normal. As far as He Qian said, these are people who must die. It doesn't really matter whether he has those crimes or not.

Even if it was so perfunctory, it took seven or eight days to finish the trial of these pleadings. This is because Wang Daoxing has stopped accepting new pleadings.

Seeing that the gang of vicious youngsters who used to run rampant and ostentatiously in Suzhou were really put in prison, many ordinary people gradually believed that they were really going to be sentenced this time, so the number of people submitting pleadings increased day by day.

Under such circumstances, Wei Guangde and others were called together by He Qian, and everyone quickly reached an agreement to continue to let the people of Suzhou sue, and the New Year case would not be over.

For those cases, in the first two days, He Qian came down and explained to Wei Guangde. It was like introducing Wei Guangde to the introduction and teaching some skills in trial and judgment. However, as time went by and there were too many cases, He Qian got bored.

Wei Guangde didn't want to develop in the direction of the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households were okay, and the last one was the Ministry of Industry. After all, there was money.

For sporadic cases, we went directly to the Suzhou riot case.

For these criminals, what should be said has been said long ago, and what should be admitted has been admitted. The whole interrogation is like a child's play. More than 20 criminals kowtowed in the lobby and begged for mercy. They have long since lost their majestic appearance in Suzhou City.

Wei Guangde sat there, watching these people's performances, he just wanted to save his life, no matter whether he was sentenced to guard the border or distributed, no one wanted to be beheaded.

It is better to die than to live, and they are not warriors who are not afraid of death, to face death directly.

However, it was too late to kneel down and beg for mercy at this moment. When they burned the edicts, symbols, flags and other items entrusted by the governor of Yingtian, their fate was already doomed.

In the period when the imperial power was supreme, these gifts representing the emperor were not allowed to be desecrated. Emperor Jiajing might not take it seriously, but the officials in the court could not ignore it.

More than 20 individual criminals were brought to court one by one, and another few days passed.

By this time, the main thing is to confirm the status of the criminal in the whole case, to confirm the mastermind and the accomplice.

The attack on the governor's yamen by the evil young man with weapons was proposed on Tuesday, and he was also under his command. Although he was not the highest among the evil young men in the past, he is the out-and-out mastermind in this case.

Not only will he be beheaded, but his family will also be implicated. It is inevitable to ransack his home and distribute him.

After everyone had committed crimes and only rested for a day, the hall of the prefect of Suzhou was promoted again, and the verdict was announced. All the leaders of the evil youths in Suzhou headed by Tuesday were sentenced to beheaded, and many of their families were implicated.
In the prison of the Zhejiang Procuratorate in Hangzhou Prefecture, Wei Guangde looked at the man lying on his side through the prison door. He called himself "King Hui" and "Captain Wufeng". Wang Zhi, who was imprisoned under the same order.

This man is Wang Zhi, but now he no longer has the high-spirited spirit he had when he dominated Haiyang. At this moment, Wei Guangde only has a desolate back in front of him.

He changed from a guest of Hu Zongxian to a prisoner, and has been imprisoned here for almost two years.

From being full of hope at the beginning to completely giving up, he already knew what his end would be, and he was just waiting for the last time.

"it's him?"

Wei Guangde looked at the back inside and asked the accompanying officials.

The one who followed Wei Guangde here was a member of the Zhejiang Procuratorate, so the purpose of bringing Wei Guangde here was naturally to see people.

"Yes, Master Wei, the one lying inside is Wang Zhi."

A very direct answer, the person in the prison had heard the conversation outside at this time, his body shook slightly, but he didn't turn his head.

Wei Guangde didn't know Wang Zhi. The so-called prison sentence is actually to confirm that the person in the prison and the person who was finally executed are the same person.

Now Wang Zhi turned his back to Wei Guangde, so that he could not see Wang Zhi's face clearly, this is not acceptable.

"Go in, turn the person over for me, and let me have a look."

Wei Guangde didn't intend to be polite to Wang Zhi, no matter what happened to this person before, he was already convicted of beheading by the imperial court, and he was about to be punished soon, not to mention that the coastal pirates were indeed inseparable from him .

When he was in the capital, Wei Guangde considered the overall situation and felt that this person should not be killed, but that he should recruit his subordinates to wipe out other Japanese pirates who did evil. However, since the court has made a conclusion, he will naturally not say more What, just execute the order.

But before the jailer opened the cell door, Wang Zhi inside had already turned around. He was not stupid. He had no way to resist in this place. Instead of being forcibly turned over by the jailer, he might as well take the initiative.

Of course, he was also curious, who else would come to the prison at this time to see him specifically.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhi couldn't help but feel a twitch in his heart, and a bad premonition emerged.

The prison was very dark. Although it was broad daylight, there was only a small window on the wall that was more than six feet high, so it couldn't let in much light at all.

But fortunately, in order to illuminate Wei Guangde and others, the guards put an oil lamp on the wall along the way, and the two guards in front each carried a lantern in their hands, so Wang Zhi could see Wei Guangde's appearance clearly at a glance.

Qingpao, the grade is not high.

New to Qiantang County magistrate?

That's not right, what I was taken into was not the prison of the Qiantang County Government, but the prison of the Zhejiang Procuratorate.

While Wang Zhi was still thinking wildly, the prison guard opened the iron chain on the prison door, and with the sound of "cracking" the iron chain, the prison door was opened.

A jailer carrying a lantern and a strong jailer walked into the cell.

The jailer carrying the lantern was to illuminate Wang Zhi, so that Wei Guangde and others could see Wang Zhi's face clearly outside the cell, so that he could confirm the arrest during torture.

These will be submitted to the Ministry of Punishment for filing afterwards.

Wang Zhi didn't have the vicious look that the leader of the Japanese pirates should have. Wang Zhi looked very thin and his hair was fluffy. After all, in prison, who would care about it.

The skin looks a little sallow, like a person who has been driving the sea all year round, which is similar to Wei Guangde's appearance when he first saw Yu Dayou.

Wei Guangde wasn't sure if it was because of the lanterns or if Wang Zhi was like this. After all, although he was a great pirate, he had been imprisoned for more than a year without seeing the light of day. At first Wei Guangde thought that he should be very white now. .

Wei Guangde just stood outside the prison door and looked carefully, he didn't intend to go in and take a closer look, but turned his head and said: "You go in and look carefully."

After speaking, Wei Guangde stood to one side, leaving the place in front of the prison door. Two officials in blue robes like him and two school lieutenants walked into the cell one after another, looked at Wang Zhi's appearance carefully, and then It was recorded in a pamphlet by the light of a jailer's lantern.

Wang should have guessed their origins by this time, and it seems that the court finally chose not to let him go.

"Ugh"

A long sigh came from the cell, and Wei Guangde turned his head to look over, only to see that Wang Zhi had closed his eyes at this moment, with tears in the corners of his eyes under the light.

The people in the cell came out of the narrow cell door one by one, and their first errand in Hangzhou was finished.

"Crash".

The sound of the iron chain sounded again, and the iron lock was locked.

"Now that you know, what else do you have to say?"

Hearing Wang Zhi's sigh, Wei Guangde asked casually.

In ancient times, there were still certain preferential treatments for prisoners who were about to be executed. The most common thing was to ask the prisoners to order a table of decent food and drinks. In addition, if there were any last words that were not too much, or to see relatives, they would still do it. , without rude rejection.

At this moment, Wei Guangde became curious as to whether this pirate leader who had a great reputation on the sea had any last words or unfulfilled wishes at this time.

To be honest, Wei Guangde still has a lot of heart for Wang Zhi, but it is not his own value, but Wang Zhi has been in the maritime business for many years, and he has also worked as a pirate. He must have a lot of money. Will it all fall into the hands of his little bosses or where?
Wei Guangde was a bit greedy about Wang Zhi's family fortune, but he knew very well that he probably couldn't get these things, so it was nothing to think about.

The business that Wang Zhi did must have accumulated a huge amount of wealth, some of which he would use to support the tens of thousands of pirates under him, but more of it must have been privately divided between him and other leaders.

Having money in their hands doesn't mean they are all in Daming.

As far as Wei Guangde knows, in the 32nd year of Jiajing, Wang Zhi’s family in Daming was locked up by the local government and imprisoned. It was not until Hu Zongxian sent him to Hangzhou that he was released from the prison.

This may be one of the reasons why Wang Zhi chose to believe in Hu Zongxian in the first place.

Hu Zongxian's family was given preferential treatment, but it was impossible for Wang Zhi to transport the money he got back home. Most of the wealth was stored in the Wa Kingdom.

During more than a year in prison, this wealth has probably been divided up by his pirate leaders and Japanese daimyos.

Perhaps, before Wang Zhi died, they would say that they kept it temporarily for the chieftain for safety, and returned it to Zhao after the chieftain came out of prison.

However, judging from the actions of various Japanese pirates who burned, killed and looted the state capitals along the coast of Daming under the banner of saving Wang Zhi over the past year, how much they really wanted to save Wang Zhi, and their motives were doubtful.

Perhaps, just as Emperor Jiajing judged, after Wang Zhi was arrested and imprisoned, his power was torn apart, and the forces that were truly loyal to him suffered heavy losses in the siege of Zhoushan Cengang by Yu Dayou, and he was no longer able to continue to control the sea. other Japanese pirate forces.

Wang Zhi, it's useless.

Wei Guangde thought a lot in an instant, coveting Wang Zhi's huge wealth, and knowing that useless people will die. He guessed that Wang Zhi must have thought of these things, so I heard that he cooperated almost all the way during the trial process, except for resolutely not Admit treason.

From the beginning to the end, Wang Zhi insisted that he was from Daming.

"Ha ha."

But when Wei Guangde waited, only Wang Zhi smiled wryly, "I hate myself, why did I believe Hu Zongxian's words of a white-eyed wolf, and the pardon edict, haha."

"What amnesty edict?"

Wei Guangde frowned slightly. When he checked Wang Zhi's file yesterday, he didn't see any records about the pardon edict.

Since it is an imperial edict, it must have come from Xiyuan in the capital, and there is no other place where it can be made.

"It's all deceitful nonsense. The purpose is to deceive me. Hehe, I just feel sorry for my children. I don't know what is going on now, whether they have escaped from the encirclement of the court."

Speaking of this, Wang Zhi's stubborn tears rolled out of the frame.

"You mean those adopted sons of yours?"

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, "They are all good. Some fought to the end, and some ran away. They are all fatal. You should think about your family more."

Wei Guangde said casually.

"I have nothing to do with them. I haven't seen each other for more than ten years. The big deal is a distribution. If I should die, I would have died long ago."

Wang Zhi was still chattering there, while the Zhejiang Inspector Si Qianshi hurriedly whispered to Wei Guangde: "It's damp and unlucky here, my lord, let's go out first, we have nothing to say to him."

"Well, yes."

Wei Guangde rolled his eyes, knowing that it is not appropriate to have too many conversations with Wang Zhi at this time, as there are people around him, although he is very interested in the "edict of amnesty" that Wang Zhi mentioned earlier.

In fact, Wei Guangde probably guessed something. This "pardon edict" is very likely to be something that Hu Zongxian created to deceive Wang Zhi, but this matter can be big or small.

To put it mildly, it was nothing more than a "trick", a strategy, and successfully deceived Wang Zhi's trust.

It's a big deal when it gets bigger, it's deceiving the king.

Even if Hu Zongxian wants to use this strategy, then you have to send a memorial to the capital and report it first.

But no, at least Wei Guangde read the relevant records in the capital, and there were no relevant records in the interrogation questionnaires seen by the Zhejiang Procuratorate in Hangzhou Prefecture.

Obviously, the dossier was tampered with, Wang Zhi would not stop talking about it, but he just said it but it was not recorded, and he didn't bother to mention it until later.

The "edict of amnesty" created by Hu Zongxian was only known to a very small number of people, and Lu Bing's Jin Yiwei did not discover it because he acted in secret.

When Wei Guangde walked out of the Prison of the Procuratorate in Zhejiang Province, what he was thinking about was whether he should talk to Lu Bing about it. There were also members of the Jinyiwei in his entourage, and they should have a secret channel to contact the capital.

As for the use, what is the use of the words of the dying person?

Even if Wei Guangde reported the edict, Wang Zhi would still die, but it might implicate Hu Zongxian, but it is also possible that Emperor Jiajing chose to let it go gently for the sake of the overall situation of suppressing the Japanese in the south of the Yangtze River.

However, if this matter falls into Lu Bing's hands, he can't talk to the Yan family, and he can get Yu Dayou out of prison.

Now no one has brought up Yu Dayou's case, but no one has said to let him go, so he has been hanging and detained. Naturally, the reason is that the Yan family did not let go.

Sitting in the sedan chair, Wei Guangde was thinking in his heart, his face was cloudy and uncertain.

(End of this chapter)