Chapter 277: Judicial System

Liu Zheng's domineering manner still gave this group of Liangzhou Army soldiers a shock.

Just as Liu Zheng had expected.

Regarding the father and son of the Liu Family returning to Liangzhou, those officials were all sorts of ingratiating and fawning. However, within the Liangzhou Army, they did not think so! This was also normal.

As the saying goes, there is no first in literature, and no second in martial arts.

Ever since the Yinzhou Army developed, it had been viewed by Liangzhou as a formidable rival in internal competition. Both were armies; was it only the Yinzhou Army that was formidable? Was the Liangzhou Army just for show?

This certainly would not do.

Consequently, not only did they start competing in their hearts, but many factors regarding their stance also naturally caused them to start being hostile toward the Yinzhou Army.

We, the former Liangzhou Army, used to walk sideways within the borders of Liangzhou.

You, the Yinzhou Army, want to come over and manage our affairs?

Isn't that a joke!

Furthermore, within this Liangzhou Army, there were not only the people of Chen Ping from before, but also the people of Zheng Yuxing. The one making the most trouble this time was an old general of Zheng Yuxing in this Liangzhou, called Qiao Guang.

Originally, everything was proceeding very smoothly.

He was certain that the Emperor was about to come to Liangzhou, and if they came over to cause trouble, this Yinzhou Army would definitely not dare to confront them head-on; at the very least, they had to give this Yinzhou Army a show of force regarding this matter! Otherwise, if this Liangzhou Army and Yinzhou Army merged in the future, would there be any good fruit for them, these old generals?

However...

What he did not expect was.

This Liu Zheng was actually so domineering.

Completely unlike the benevolent and righteous ruler rumored in the outside world.

Moreover.

These few words from Liu Zheng directly left the Liangzhou Army speechless.

Evidence?

Who saw it?

The conflict between Chen Mingze and Wang occurred the previous night. But he died in his home the next day. There was no human evidence, material evidence, or documentary evidence...

Qiao Guang could not help but panic in his heart; he himself had originally just incited the Liangzhou Army to come over and make unreasonable trouble, never mind any human or material evidence. He coldly snorted and said, "Prefect Liu, Wang was usually as strong as an ox! If it weren't for your Military Officer Chen that day, how could this happen? That night, in public and under the eyes of everyone, everyone saw it. Even if he was fine on the spot and died suddenly after returning, does that not count as Military Officer Chen's doing?"

Once these words were spoken, the entire Liangzhou Army began to clamor again.

At this moment, the third brother, Chen Mingze, could not help but run out. Once they saw this person, the atmosphere of the Liangzhou Army exploded again.

"Kill him!"

"It's him!"

"Murderer!"

Chen Mingze was clearly looking listless; he probably felt that he had caused trouble for the Yinzhou Army, and especially when he saw Jiang Xuan and Liu Zheng, his eyes flickered and dodged.

"Third brother, was it really you?"

Jiang Xuan was heartbroken.

The military law of the Yinzhou Army was extremely strict; a life for a life, this was inevitable. If this matter was truly the work of the third brother, the Young Master would absolutely not show leniency!

Chen Mingze's complexion changed several times in an instant, his fists clenched tightly, and with a 'thud', he knelt down, weeping bitterly: "Young Master, it was the third brother who did it, it was the third brother who did it!"

"Chen Mingze only asks for death!"

He buried his head deep in the ground, heartbroken and devastated.

The whole scene was in an uproar.

"Third brother!"

Jiang Xuan was heartbroken.

The Liangzhou Army, needless to say, was triumphant, looking at Liu Zheng one by one with mockery. It was as if they were saying, look, your own man has admitted it, and you are still here talking about human evidence, material evidence, and documentary evidence!

At this moment.

The Liangzhou Army completely occupied the situation on the field, being extremely arrogant.

"Kill him!"

"Execute him on the spot!"

"Prefect Liu, you wouldn't be unable to bring yourself to do it, would you? Why, if it's your own people, can you act recklessly? How will the world view you for this?"

That Qiao Guang laughed out loud.

Liu Zheng did not care what others said; he just quietly watched this third brother, Chen Mingze.

Kill?

To uphold military discipline, there was nothing wrong with that, but having been played like this by the Liangzhou Army, Liu Zheng was certainly unhappy in his heart; wasn't this a show of force against him?

Not kill?

What about military discipline?

And what about his name as the Contemporary Sage?

Chen Mingze kept his head down and could not possibly make any eye contact, so Liu Zheng could only angrily say: "Lock him in the dungeon, send him to the Supervision Department for interrogation and to sign the confession; if the crime is confirmed, execute him on an appointed day!"

"Young Master!"

Everyone cried out in sorrow.

Jiang Xuan's heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.

Liu Zheng said nothing more and rode away. As he left, he clearly saw Qiao Guang and the others looking at each other with joy.

The Liangzhou Army was happy now; on the way back, they were all loudly spreading this matter to smear the Yinzhou Army.

Looking at the Yinzhou Army side, they were all like frost-bitten eggplants, not even having the mood to go out and seek pleasure.

For a time.

The entire Liangzhou knew about this matter.

So, Viscount Liu has been set up?

Scheduled for execution on a chosen day?

Things are getting lively now.

Are this father and son of the Liu Family, having just returned to Liangzhou, about to be slapped in the face?

If the Emperor, who is arriving in Liangzhou in a few days, learns of this, what will he think of Viscount Liu? And if this matter spreads throughout the world, what then?

"Young Master, that absolutely was not done by Old San!"

Jiang Xuan was in a rush to find Liu Zheng.

At this moment, Liu Zheng was playing chess with Qingyang Shuo; he looked down at the chessboard and ignored him entirely.

Jiang Xuan paced back and forth anxiously: "Young Master, Young Master, say something, won't you!"

Qingyang Shuo laughed heartily: "Jiang Xuan, since Old San is your brother, if your Dark Night Squad doesn't go investigate, what is the use of begging the Young Master here?"

Jiang Xuan was stunned, then smiled bitterly: "Sir, Old San has already confessed, how can we investigate? But, Young Master, Old San must have confessed because he didn't want to make things difficult for you; he didn't want to cause a conflict, it must be that! Although Old San was a thief before, he has turned over a new leaf and is now a great general under my command! He is loyal to the Yinzhou army, which is why he did this. He has rendered outstanding service, he cannot be killed, Young Master..."

Liu Zheng finally grew annoyed; he frowned, looked up, and chuckled: "Little Xuanzi, with you like this, you're still the captain of the Dark Night Squad? Let me ask you, that Wang was killed, did you go examine the corpse?"

Jiang Xuan was stunned.

"You didn't even examine the corpse, did you go collect evidence?"

"Did you have a physician check the cause of death?"

"Did you ask the wives and concubines of that Wang?"

"Did you ask the companions who went to the brothel with him that day?"

"Did you ask his neighbors?"

The barrage of questions left Jiang Xuan stunned on the spot.

Liu Zheng shook his head with a bitter smile; at this moment, the weaknesses of his own team were exposed. In Liu Zheng's view, this was not a bad thing!

Why?

Ever since he and Liu Dahao entered Yinzhou, they had developed and expanded rapidly, with strong military forces, appearing to flourish. But the most important aspect, concerning social order, was something he had never paid attention to.

What was it?

It was the judiciary!

The judicial system!

In Liu Zheng's view, this had always been unsound.

Whether it was the local judiciary or the military judiciary, he had never really cared about them. The Supervision Department is an agency that exists in every province, equivalent to the public security bureau of later generations... The Supervision Department has bailiffs, who are equivalent to police.

However...

Is having only one Supervision Department enough?

Not nearly enough!

What about a procuratorate?

What about a court?

These institutions, which should be independent and even adversarial in judicial matters, did not exist in ancient times.

Which is to say...

Judging whether a person is guilty, judging who is responsible for a case, and how to make a ruling—all of it is decided by the single department of the Supervision Department.

There are even cases of on-the-spot executions!

Is this reasonable?

Is this scientific?

Perhaps the people of this Longyan Dynasty think it is reasonable, but as someone who has seen the judicial systems of later generations, Liu Zheng finds it completely unreasonable.

At the very least, the process of a case should be accusation, investigation and evidence collection, arrest and detention, sentencing, and execution.

Not to mention second trials or final appeals.

At the very least.

These processes must be rigorous!

A judiciary is not just about having laws.

It also requires the cooperation of institutions with clear divisions of labor to be a true judicial system!

Therefore.

Since this matter has come up.

Liu Zheng will simply make the judicial system within Liangzhou sound.

This is the most basic framework for social stability.

Jiang Xuan listened, completely bewildered: "Young Master, Old San has already confessed..."

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Little Xuanzi, you are the captain of the Dark Night Squad; you should understand that objective facts are objective facts and should not be erased by someone's words."

"If he says he killed, then he killed?"

"If he says he did it himself, then he did it himself?"

He looked at Jiang Xuan and chuckled: "Ask him how he killed, and why he killed! This case is full of doubts; Old San is not a martial artist, do you believe he could kill a commander with just a few kicks?"

Jiang Xuan was shaken to his core, suddenly enlightened, and said with pleasant surprise: "Does the Young Master mean the case can be reopened?"

"Why not?"

Liu Zheng smiled slightly: "Forget it, time is limited; I will teach you myself this one time. Call everyone from the Supervision Department to me!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Xuan left happily.

Qingyang Shuo also laughed and said, "It seems this Zheng Yuxing wants to trip the young master up, but he has played right into the young master's hands!"

The two of them laughed heartily.

Isn't that the truth?

If Liu Zheng can turn this matter around beautifully, it won't be a slap to his own face, but a slap to the faces of those in Liangzhou City right now who harbor malicious intentions!

Furthermore.

Once the judicial system is perfected, the Emperor will arrive.

What kind of political achievement would this be? What kind of reputation would this bring?

Very quickly.

Jiang Xuan summoned the Counselor of the Liangzhou Prefecture Supervision Department and a group of Executives.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

"Greetings, Prefect Liu!"

After they had all exchanged greetings, Liu Zheng asked them, "Regarding the case of Chen Mingze, what is your take?"

The group looked at one another in dismay.

The Counselor of the Supervision Department, named Huang Xiang, heard this and cupped his hands, saying, "Young Master, the Military Aide Chen has already confessed and is to be beheaded on an appointed day. This, this, this matter is about to be closed, so what else is there to look at?"

The others nodded as well.

Liu Zheng sneered: "Absurd! The case has not been fully investigated, yet you are closing it? How are the Supervision Department's files written? Are you just making it up as you go?"

Huang Xiang was so frightened he knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down: "Young Master, Young Master, this subordinate would never dare!"

Liu Zheng said: "From today on, for Supervision Department files to be archived, they must be accompanied by the results of the case investigation and evidence collection. You must ensure the case is clear, has a beginning and an end, the motive is distinct, and that the three types of evidence—testimonial, physical, and documentary—are all complete before they can be archived. There must be a designated person responsible for this; do not be negligent. I will conduct random, strict inspections. Do you understand?"

The crowd responded with a thunderous acknowledgement.

Yet, each of them was thinking to themselves.

This Prefect Liu has only been in Liangzhou for a few days, and he is already looking to take a knife to their Supervision Department?

However...

They had never heard that this Prefect Liu was an expert in the field of solving cases...

For a time, everyone was in a state of panic.

They only hoped that this Prefect Liu would not cause a mess.