HLnovel Chapter 50 Trial of the One-Eyed
Chapter 50 Trial of the One-Eyed
Chapter 50 Trial of the One-Eyed
"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed his gavel and said, "Bring the criminal to the court."
In a short while, several constables escorted One-Eyed and the others into the main hall.
"Thump!" One-Eyed quickly knelt down, pitifully saying, "My lord! I confess my sins!"
The newly recruited constables hadn't finished their training, and the crackdown hadn't officially begun. Wang Wenzhou had already ordered that anyone who committed a crime, no matter what it was, be immediately thrown into prison.
Within just two or three days, the prison was already overcrowded, forcing Wang Wenzhou to begin judging the inmates. Wang Wenzhou had already decided to build a labor camp where anyone without a legitimate job who committed a crime would be sent for labor reform. Free labor—why not use it?
"What has the person below done?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
“My name is Li Hu, from Dangtu County. I beat someone up that day,” the one-eyed man replied.
Li Hu and his gang were hooligans from Dangtu County, which borders Hanshan County. They had nothing to do most of the time, but when they heard that they could make money just by entering and leaving the city of Hanshan, Li Hu led his brothers to Hanshan.
Li Hu was quite influential in Dangtu County, and when he arrived in Hanshan, even the local ruffians treated him with great respect. Li Hu was living a very comfortable life in Hanshan County. Every day, he and his brothers would go in and out of the four city gates, and that was enough for a good meal and drinks.
That day, Li Hu and his gang originally intended to extort a small amount of money from Buguilou, but unexpectedly, they ended up beating up the magistrate of Hanshan County.
These past few days in jail, Li Hu and his brothers have suffered terribly. The treatment they received was simply inhuman! No sooner had they settled into the jail than Ma Ban Tou, along with several constables, stormed over, seething with rage.
Li Hu and his companions were beaten beyond recognition by the ruthless constables. After the head constable left, the jailer Liu Yunli gave them another beating. "So be it," Li Hu thought, "who told us to beat up the big boss!" What frustrated Li Hu most was that there was no food in the jail!
It wasn't that they didn't give them food; the jailers just provided disgusting things like rats and toads. Li Hu had eaten these things when he was in the army, especially the rats, which tasted quite good roasted. The problem was that the despicable jailers gave them all raw!
Thinking of this, Li Hu felt a surge of acid rise to his throat, making him nauseous. His biggest dream now was for Lord Wang to finish the case quickly and send him and his brother to serve in the army. Even if Lord Wang sentenced them to ten or eight years of exile, Li Hu would accept it! It was better than being tortured to death in the Hanshan County prison.
"What are your names? Look up!" Wang Wenzhou said.
"My name is Li Hu (Liu Sa...)" Li Hu and his brothers quickly raised their heads and announced their names.
"Pfft!" Wang Wenzhou took a closer look and immediately burst out laughing.
Wang Wenzhou didn't recognize the others; their faces were so badly beaten that even their own parents probably wouldn't recognize them. Wang Wenzhou recognized Li Hu at a glance, as he only had one eye and was easily recognizable.
"It's you guys!" Wang Wenzhou said with a smile.
"My lord! I know I was wrong! I confess my sins!" Li Hu hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly.
"Brother Li, you look much more handsome now, I almost didn't recognize you. How have you been eating and sleeping these past few days?" Wang Wenzhou asked with a smile.
"Bang, bang, bang..." Li Hu's forehead was bleeding from the banging. He said aggrievedly, "Sir! I confess! Please have mercy and spare my life!"
Although Wang Wenzhou was a conman in later generations, he wouldn't kill people indiscriminately. He really didn't intend to kill Li Hu and the others; he just wanted to vent his anger, which is why he specifically instructed the jailer to take good care of them.
"This judge hereby sentences Li Hu and the others to three years of labor reform, and they will be temporarily imprisoned. After the labor camp is completed in a few days, they will be transferred to the labor camp," Wang Wenzhou said.
Upon hearing this, Li Hu and the others turned pale with fright! What was a labor camp? They didn't understand! But they understood being locked up in jail. "Lord Wang, we brothers have offended you, but you don't have to take our lives!"
"My lord, spare our lives!" Li Hu and his men hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy.
Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and said, "Take him away!"
Several constables quickly stepped forward and dragged Li Hu and the others out of the hall.
"My lord, spare my life!" Li Hu cried out in anguish.
"Idiots!" Wang Wenzhou cursed under his breath. I don't want to kill you guys, why are you so scared?
"Bring one of the criminals to court!" Wang Wenzhou ordered.
The prisoner was escorted to the court by the yamen runners.
"What did you do wrong?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
"I stole a chicken," the prisoner kneeling on the ground replied.
Damn, they're all petty thieves, how boring! These little cases don't show off my brilliance at all. Wang Wenzhou curled his lip, beckoned to Li the clerk, and ordered, "Xiao Yin, I have important business to attend to."
Wang Wenzhou pointed to the case files on the table and continued, "These cases are for you to handle."
Li Yinshui quickly bowed and advised, "Sir, this is against the rules."
Wang Wenzhou frowned and said irritably, "From now on in Qingyang, my word is law. What's wrong with the rules? You can handle this kind of minor case. I have so many important matters to deal with in the county, I don't have time to deal with these trivial cases!"
Li Yinshui smiled wryly. His godfather, although a rare genius, was too casual and somewhat lazy in everything he did.
"I'll teach you how to conduct the interrogation. Locals from Hanshan County, if you have money, fine them; if you don't, spank them. Outsiders, if you have money, fine them; if you don't, sentence them to labor camp for one to three years. You decide what to do," Wang Wenzhou said.
"Your subordinate obeys!" Li Yinshui said, cupping his hands in greeting.
Li Yinshui didn't understand why his godfather was treating him differently. Wang Wenzhou, of course, had his reasons. He introduced the city entrance tax to attract outsiders to Hanshan County and increase the county's population.
A large population stimulates consumption, and these days, all businesses in Hanshan County are thriving. However, the large number of unemployed people is a major threat. Regardless of the era, those who consume without producing anything are always a destabilizing factor in society.
Wang Wenzhou planned to train these people into qualified workers. Since he hadn't yet decided what kind of industry to establish, he had no choice but to temporarily imprison them in labor camps. Once the labor camps were established, Wang Wenzhou would organize manpower to teach them life skills.
They turned the labor camps into vocational schools. Of course, you had to pay tuition to learn a skill! So after they learned the skill, they would work for free for a few years before being released.
Wang Wenzhou beckoned, and Li Yinshui quickly came over. Wang Wenzhou whispered, "Don't impose too much of a fine. Keep half for yourself and put the other half into the public account. Don't go too far and cause someone to be ruined or even die. I'll make you pay with your life!"
"Thank you, Father! I know what I'm doing, please rest assured!" Li Yinshui was overjoyed. Normally, as a clerk, he could only take a small portion of this "tribute," not the lion's share. Now that his godfather was letting him take the lion's share, how could he not be happy?