Chapter 96 Chapter 96: No fear of prestige to judge criminals

After retiring from the court, Zeng Guofan rushed to the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment first, followed by officials from various ministries, court servants and above.Mu Zhang'a and Du Shoutian, two enemies, were not present. According to the oracle, Zeng Guofan was the first to sit down, with the supervisor and trial officials sitting first, and the deputy presiding judge sitting next to him.Hengchun and Huashana looked gloomy and reluctant, but Sushun seemed to be in high spirits. After a while, the eunuch on duty in front of the imperial court led many guards, holding a round tray in his hand - a round thing was covered with yellow satin cloth on the tray, and walked slowly into the hall.

Zeng Guofan knew that it was the crown that had been invited, so he personally lit three sticks of incense, and then saluted the crown that had been placed on the case before returning to his seat. Zeng Guofan looked at Qi Shizao who was standing above him, and said, "Master Zhongtang, let's start?" Qi Shizao nodded. Zeng Guofan cleared his throat and said, "Bring Qi Shan!" The on-duty officials of the Ministry of Punishment who were waiting at the back of the hall responded and walked out. Qi Shan soon walked in with square steps like a fat goose, followed by two officials from the Ministry of Punishment.

Seeing Qi Shan's arrogant appearance, Zeng Guofan yelled: "Qi Shan, you entered the hall of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and you still don't kneel down!" Qi Shan was taken aback for a moment, and when he saw that it was Zeng Guofan who was asking the question, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Zeng Guofan, you are a little Han servant, how dare you talk to me like this! Are you despising my upright official system? " Zeng Guofan pulled the yellow satin cloth in front of him with his hands and shouted: "The crown is here, how dare you not kneel!" Qi Shan took a closer look, and there was indeed a shining golden crown in front of Zeng Guofan!

Qi Shan cursed in his heart: "Zeng Guofan is a dog slave!" His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees with a plop, and bowed three times and bowed nine times to the crown. The faces of the hearing officials on both sides of the hall showed admiration for Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan asked quietly: "Qi Shan, this department is ordered by the emperor to try your case of indiscriminate killing of innocent people. You must tell the truth and don't hide it!" Qi Shan opened his eyes wide, and said thunderously: "Zeng Guofan, you are just a small second-rank servant. With your status, you dare to interrogate your Lord Marquis. Are you going to kill yourself? Why don't you get out of here automatically?" What are you waiting for when you go down to the court, waiting for the Lord to slap your big ear?"

Hengchun remained calm, his heart was already in full bloom.The face he lost was finally recovered from Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan's triangular eyes narrowed slowly, his brows furrowed into the word Sichuan.He suddenly slapped the gavel and shouted majestically: "Bold Qi Shan, how dare you speak wild words! Although the position of the headquarters is humble, it is also a dignified court official in the Qing Dynasty! Open your eyes and see clearly, the crown is here, as if The emperor is here. Although the position of this department is low, it is judging you on behalf of the emperor. Your insulting this department is equivalent to insulting the imperial court. Are you guilty?"

After hearing these words, Qi Shan could only lower his head helplessly, and said in a low voice, "I am guilty." "Qi Shan, you are a prince, and the Ministry does not blame you. You raise your head, and the Ministry is asking you now." Zeng Guofan said word by word, "As the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, the Jing bandit Baobian is originally How can you kill people without doing enough to suppress the bandits? And falsely claim rewards from the emperor? Do you know the truth that water can carry a boat or capsize it?" Qi Shan glared at Zeng Guofan angrily, and said with a sneer: "Zeng Guofan, you also know that this old man is a prince? This old man is a prince who was killed by his ancestors with a knife and a gun, unlike the second-rank top wear on your head. It was tricked by those who rely on it. Since you know that the old man is a prince, you should stand up and talk to the old man. Zeng Guofan, you have to sit down with the old man!"

Zeng Guofan was so angry that he trembled all over, he yelled: "Qi Shan, how dare you speak wild words, roar in the court, despise the emperor, and play with the king's law! Executioner waits!" Two tall and burly men walked in from the door. Both of them had the criminal name embroidered on their chests and backs. It was clear that the Ministry of Punishment specialized in execution for a living.The two of them stopped in the lobby and waited for Zeng Guofan to show them off.Zeng Guofan said: "Slap Qi Shan, the man who roars in the court and has no eyes on the emperor!"

The two executioners agreed with a "Wow", one walked behind Qi Shan, pulled Qi Shan's thin braid in his hand, and the other walked to the opposite side of Qi Shan, without any explanation, swung his palm round, and said something One sentence: "Master Hou, you are going to accept the punishment!" Then they started beating seriously, Qishan was beaten until he screamed like a pig. The Wenwu officials standing on both sides applauded Zeng Shilang in their hearts.Manchus have always been domineering, and people with titles like Qi Shan don't take Han officials seriously.

After the execution was over, the two executioners took a step back. When Zeng Guofan looked at Qi Shan, he couldn't help admiring in his heart: "He is truly worthy of a title!" Qi Shan's cheeks were already swollen, and the corners of his mouth were already stained with red blood, but Qi Shan still refused to admit defeat and kept staring. Looking at Zeng Guofan with big eyes, he clearly wanted to swallow Zeng Guofan in one gulp, which was somewhat provocative. Zeng Guofan slapped the gavel and shouted loudly: "Qi Shan, are you guilty?" Qi Shan closed his eyes and ignored Zeng Guofan, his face full of disdain.

Zeng Guofan was so angry that he simply stopped doing nothing, stood up abruptly, held the crown with both hands, and shouted: "Great punishment will be your servant!" There was a promise from outside, and the four executioners carried a wooden tiger stool, placed it behind Qishan, and stood with their arms crossed. Zeng Guofan snorted with his nose, and said angrily: "Here is the crown, and the executioner obeys the order: Take off Qi Shan's royal clothes and wait for the execution, there must be no mistake!" He held up the crown high to show that the emperor enforced the law .The executioner didn't dare to be negligent, so he took off Qi Shanjue's clothes, dragged him on the tiger stool, and tied him up in the blink of an eye.

Zeng Guofan closed his eyes and shouted, "Use torture!" As soon as Zeng Guofan's words fell, the four executioners exerted force together, only to hear that Qi Shan roared, and the whole hall was shocked; when everyone looked at Qi Shan again, they passed out early. Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, it was the first time that the second-rank servant had tortured a Marquis, and all the officials were sweating for Zeng Guofan.What Hengchun thought was: Zeng Guofan, let's see how you end up! Seeing that Qi Shan passed out, according to the usual practice, an execution officer brought half a bucket of ice water outside, and poured it on Qi Shan's head, and Qi Shan shivered, sighed, and then stopped. open your eyes. Seeing Qi Shan wake up, Zeng Guofan didn't allow him to speak, so he shouted early: "Here is the crown! Qi Shan dares to despise the emperor, and the crime will be increased! Left and right, use more force and torture! There must be no mistakes!" The executioner uttered a cry, and Qi Shan was so frightened that he hurriedly shouted to the court: "Wait a minute, the old man has something to say." The executioner stopped his hands. Qi Shan gasped and said: "Zeng Youtang, what kind of enmity or grievance does this old man have with you, you are going to kill this old man!" Zeng Guofan sneered and said: "Qishan, let me ask you, what enmity and grievance do the innocent Hui people in Xinjiang have with you, and why did you order the supervising soldiers to attack them? Aren't you afraid of being retribution?" This dossier is in front of Qi Shan: "The court has summoned your escort. The court has already found out the truth about your indiscriminate killing of innocent people. Do you still want to go to court with them? Qi Shan, you should understand, If you don't have the evidence of your indiscriminate killing of innocent people, how dare a small second-rank official in this department dare to torture you, the hereditary prince of the Qing Dynasty! Qishan, as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu in the Qing Dynasty, you are located in Fengjiang, and you have a lot of connections. Very big, you don’t suppress bandits, but you kill innocent people, have you forgotten the old adage that the government forced the people to rebel?” "Zeng Youtang, you mustn't spout blood!" Qishan struggled to argue, "Sara rebelled, and responded to everyone, overwhelming, how do you let this old man tell the good from the bad!" Zeng Guofan became more and more angry: "Qi Shan, do you govern the frontier according to this theory? You want to make it clear to the officials today!" "Anyway..." Qi Shan completely lost the style of Lord Hou, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.When Zeng Guofan saw that the fire had arrived, he slapped the gavel and shouted loudly: "Bold Qi Shan, you have pleaded guilty, why don't you sign and draw a bond? Do you want the second punishment in the Ministry? The executioner waits!" Qi Shan thumped He sat down on the ground, took the statement and pressed his fingerprints on it. "Come here," Zeng Guofan yelled, "Put Qi Shan in prison and wait for the order!" Qi Shan was generally dragged out by the executioner as a dead dog. Zeng Guofan put down the crown and let out a sigh of relief.He knew that as long as Qi Shan was willing to plead guilty, Zheng Zuchen would be able to go to trial, forgiven that Zheng's bones would not be much tougher than that of Master Qi!