Chapter 350 Judgment
Unlike Magistrate Pang, Magistrate Liu was a local. He had relatives and friends from all around the area. Whenever he thought about his deceased relatives and neighbors, some of whom had died at the hands of the Prefect, Han Tao, and the Chen family, he couldn't control his anger.
Changing his usual cautious approach of always prioritizing Magistrate Pang, Magistrate Liu stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Yuan, saying, "My lord, I am willing to lead men there."
After a pause, he added a sentence to Magistrate Pang's defense: "As for my father, he is, after all, the head of the county, so it is best for him to stay in the county office and coordinate from the center."
Before Jiang Yuan could speak, Magistrate Pang nodded eagerly, "Yes, yes, it's best for me to stay in the county office."
Jiang Yuan: ......
He made up his mind: he would recommend this County Magistrate Liu for merit and, incidentally, impeach this County Magistrate Pang.
After sending a team of men to Magistrate Liu, and then sending a few of his own trusted personal guards, Jiang Yuan looked at Magistrate Pang again and said, "Let's continue."
"Huh?" Magistrate Pang looked bewildered. Continue? Continue what?
Now, not only Jiang Yuan, but even Magistrate Pang's own advisor couldn't stand it anymore. He whispered a reminder to Magistrate Pang, "Master, you still need to continue the trial of those involved in the case."
"Oh, oh." Magistrate Pang seemed to wake from a dream. "Yes, yes, I still need to continue the trial of the other suspects in the Chen family."
As for Han Tao, who, despite knowing he had no hope of turning the tide, still had a fierce look in his eyes, as if he were about to devour someone at any moment, Magistrate Pang cowardly skipped over his name.
On the contrary, the shrewd Commander Wang, without Jiang Yuan's orders, took the initiative to send some men to guard Han Tao's residence when he went to arrest people from the Chen family.
Han Tao's crimes are too numerous to count. Even if Jiang Yuan doesn't seek revenge, he will still drag his parents, wife, and children down to hell.
Seeing that Han Tao had no hope of turning the tide, the shrewd Commander Wang immediately saw his family as targets for meritorious service.
Upon hearing Jiang Yuan order Magistrate Pang to continue the trial, he immediately revealed that he had already sent men to surround the Han residence.
Jiang Yuan gave him a look that carried a hint of appreciation, which was a way of acknowledging his foresight.
Even if the Han family wanted to flee to avoid punishment, his trusted men left at the city gate would arrest them all. However, the fact that Commander Wang thought of controlling them first showed that he was indeed very thoughtful.
With the patriarch of the Chen family confessing, the other members of the Chen family stopped making excuses and trying to deny it. However, Han Tao, even in dire straits, remained fierce and ruthless.
In the end, it was the jailer in the county jail who was most skilled in interrogation who volunteered because his relatives had died at the hands of pirates. He took great care in "treating" Han Tao, and only then did the guy finally become obedient.
Since there was no longer any need for Xie Wanniang's help, she quietly left with Haitang and the others when the Chen father and son confessed one after the other.
Jiang Yuan was the only one who oversaw the entire subsequent interrogation. To keep a close watch on the unreliable Magistrate Pang, Jiang Yuan even spent a full day and night at the county office with Zhou Tongchun and others.
The following afternoon, Magistrate Liu escorted about ten people, including the Prefect, back to the Dinghai County Government Office. The other officials in the office had already compiled the statements of the suspects who had been arrested earlier.
With their confessions, it became relatively easy for the prefect and others to interrogate them.
But no matter how easy it was, Magistrate Pang still dared not conduct the trial.
Fortunately, Jiang Yuan had anticipated this outcome. Back when the Chen family had summoned the prefect, he had already sent someone by fast horse to invite the officials of the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Judicial Commission.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't find any of His Majesty's informants, and that the censors appointed by the emperor were currently quite far away, Jiang Yuan would have wanted to invite them as well.
However, the hidden agents, even if they are not inside the courtroom, must be hiding among the crowd watching the commotion from the doorway.
Therefore, Jiang Yuan was not worried at all that the officials of the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Judicial Commission would protect the Prefect of Ningbo.
Of course, since he had sent troops to arrest the prefect of Ningbo, he was already mentally prepared to be reprimanded by the imperial court.
Han Tao was a general under his command. Given the conclusive evidence, there was nothing wrong with him dealing with the other party. Han Tao's wife's family lived under Magistrate Pang's jurisdiction. With him around, it was reasonable for Jiang Yuan to "assist" in arresting the Chen family. However, the Prefect of Ningbo was different. He was the Prefect of a prefecture, a civil official in a completely different system from Jiang Yuan.
Even if he made a mistake, the civil officials would prefer that officials from their own system arrest, interrogate, and deal with him, rather than Jiang Yuan directly ordering County Magistrate Liu to bring his soldiers to arrest him, as is the case now.
Jiang Yuan was worried that if the news got out, the prefect of Ningbo would be desperate and destroy the evidence, and then frame them. Alternatively, if he were allowed to escape to the sea, the matter would become very complicated. But the civil officials did not consider these things.
They wouldn't care whether Jiang Yuan acted expediently in an emergency; they would only seize on the fact that Jiang Yuan broke the rules and launch a fierce attack on him.
Jiang Yuan was mentally prepared for this, and he knew that no matter how fiercely these civil officials wielded their pens, the emperor would not demote or dismiss him because of this incident. Therefore, he did not take the impeachments seriously.
At this time and place, all the people involved in the case were here, and with the evidence conclusive and the confessions complete, even if the officials of the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Judicial Commission were dissatisfied with Jiang Yuan's overstepping of his authority, they could only grit their teeth and enforce the law impartially.
Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to impeach Jiang Yuan; they'd be lucky if they weren't impeached by him instead.
Of course, even if they enforce the law impartially, they cannot escape the charge of negligence.
Several of the Ningbo Prefect's colleagues were also implicated to some extent.
Under Jiang Yuan's calm and unmoved observation, the officials of the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Judicial Commission quickly issued their preliminary judgments against those involved in the case.
"Han Tao colluded with foreign enemies, killed innocent people to claim credit, and instigated violence. His crimes are heinous and he is sentenced to be beheaded in the autumn. His parents, wife, eldest son, brothers, and cousins who knew about it but did not report it and participated in it are also beheaded. His other relatives within three generations are exiled to the remote and desolate southwest."
"The Chen family illegally operated an iron mine and had long colluded with the enemy. All adult males and female relatives within three generations of the main culprit Chen Feng were beheaded. Female relatives and underage males who were not involved were exiled to the remote southwest."
"The former prefect of Ningbo and his relatives involved in the case are accomplices of Han Tao and Chen Feng, and should be executed along with Han Tao. The female relatives and underage males within three generations who are not involved in the case shall also be exiled to the remote and desolate southwest."
The verdict caused a sensation throughout Dinghai County.
The people were talking about it, and the soldiers were also restless. Fortunately, Jiang Yuan was prepared. He joined forces with County Magistrate Liu and quickly did a good job of appeasing the people and the army.
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