Although Zhang Chong's trial was very grand, the actual trial took only one morning. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Perhaps because he often did it in the past and was accustomed to it, or perhaps because he relied on his own merits and didn't take it to heart, Zhang Chong didn't do much to cover up when he collected taxes from the people privately, so the evidence left behind was very sufficient.

Yang Tingshi stayed in Guangde for nearly a month, and the evidence collected not only contained sufficient physical evidence, but also sufficient human evidence.

As the presiding judge, Zhou Yin not only carefully examined the physical evidence that he had seen many times during the trial, but also took the trouble to question those witnesses one by one, recording their confessions one by one.

And in this process, Zhang Chong also got many opportunities to defend himself, after all, according to Yang Wu's order, he was still the commander of Huainan before he was convicted, so he naturally had this right.

However, in the face of such ironclad evidence, Zhang Chong's defense seemed a little pale, and even Zhu Qianyou, who was Zhang Chong's friend, could not exonerate him.

Later, Zhang Chong simply mentioned that he was dedicated to fighting for the two generations of Yang Wu's father and son, and had been bloody on the battlefield many times, thinking that he should not be treated like this with his own merits.

However, no matter how he defends his merits, the so-called merits are merits and demerits, and his merits cannot cover up the crimes he committed, and the upright Zhou Yin does not care about Zhang Chong's achievements, and still announces the crimes that Zhang Chong has committed one by one.

On the side, seeing that the trial had reached the last moment, Zhang Chong's conviction seemed to be inevitable, and Zhu Qianyou and other generals felt a little uncomfortable in their hearts.

Although Zhang Chong's crime is true, his credit is also not false, and such a meritorious general was convicted without rebellion, and they naturally couldn't understand it in their hearts.

"Is it true that the king wants to condemn him for a felony? Otherwise, why haven't you come forward until now? The generals thought to themselves.

Although Yang Wu has not officially established the country now, his ban is not a holy decree, but it is similar to the holy decree in Huainan today.

Zhang Chong blatantly violated his prohibition, and if Yang Wu wanted to demonstrate his authority, it was possible that Zhang Chong would even be executed.

Even if Yang Wu does not deliberately show his majesty, as long as Zhou Yin is allowed to judge according to law, with Zhou Yin's upright character, the final result will not be optimistic.

Below, if Zhang Chong still had hope at the beginning, he thought that Yang Wu would pardon him for the sake of his past achievements, but at this time, his heart also began to despair.

“…… Zhang Chong openly violated the king's ban and collected taxes from the people privately, causing great resentment in the township, and according to the law, he should be beheaded and confiscated his family property! Set an example! At noon, Zhou Yin, as the presiding judge, finally pronounced the verdict against Zhang Chong.

Hearing this result, not only the onlookers were in an uproar, but even Zhu Qianyou and the others had extremely ugly faces, and Zhang Chong's face was even more defeated, with a face full of despair.

"Where is the king? I want to see the king, I have fought for the two generations of the Yang father and son, and the credit is outstanding, the king can't treat me like this, if it has not been pacified today, how can I behead the general first? Zhang Chong shouted loudly.

Zhu Qianyou and others also pleaded one after another, hoping that Zhou Yin could be relieved, but Zhou Yin was unmoved.

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside, and then there was a chorus of promises: "My subordinates meet the king!" It turned out to be Yang Wu who suddenly arrived.

In fact, not only Yang Wu arrived, but other important generals and high-ranking officials in Guangling basically arrived, after all, it was the last moment of Zhang Chong's sentence, and everyone wanted to know the result at the first time.

After entering the courtroom, Yang Wu waved his hand to signal that everyone did not need to be polite, and then said to Zhang Chong in a deep voice: "Zhang Chong, when I was outside just now, I heard you say that you have made outstanding contributions to the bloody battlefield for the two generations of my father and son, and this is also remembered by Lone, and I will never forget it. But your credit is not a reason for you to break the ban! ”

"The king......" Zhang Chong hurriedly opened his mouth to defend himself, but was stopped by Yang Wu waving his hand again.

"Lonely and ask you, is there enough money that Lone gives you on weekdays?"

"This ......," Zhang Chong didn't know how to answer.

"Every time you make a meritorious deed, is there a reward that Lone gives you that is worthy of your merit?" Yang Wu ignored it and continued to ask.

"After going to the battlefield, did Lone Ke treat you differently and deliberately didn't give you a chance to make meritorious contributions?"

"After every big war, for the soldiers under your command, are there any pensions that have not been paid?"

"Are there enough reinforcements for you?"

……

Yang Wu asked questions again and again, leaving Zhang Chong speechless.

In fact, although Yang Wu divided many generals in Huainan into different categories such as descendants and non-descendants, he also knew that as the lord of Huainan, he had to be fair at least on the surface.

Therefore, the treatment given to various ministries is generally consistent, and he will not deliberately suppress a certain general because he is not his descendant, which is also an important reason why he can be supported by the generals.

If even he, the lord of Huainan, can't treat his subordinates fairly, he is afraid that his subordinates will form gangs, which is a matter of course.

"The king, the subordinates know that they are wrong, and the subordinates really know that they are wrong, and the subordinates should not violate the king's prohibition by virtue of merit. But please forgive your subordinates for the sake of their past merits, and forgive them for the next ......."

At this time, Zhang Chong was really scared, and at this time, under Yang Wu's questioning, he pleaded again and again. He really never thought that Yang Wu would give him such a heavy punishment because it seemed to him to be just a trivial matter.

"Please forgive General Zhang for the sake of General Zhang's past merits!" On the side, Zhu Qianyou and others also pleaded in unison.

Yang Wu snorted coldly, waved his hand and motioned for everyone to get up, "If it weren't for your merits, Lone wouldn't have come here!" Cheng Xun, announce it! ”

"Yes!" Cheng Xun bowed in response, took out a document that had been written a long time ago, and read it out loud: "...... Committing lawlessness, acting arbitrarily, and beheading according to the law, but remembering his old merits, and not being able to bear to kill him, he is pardoned for his capital crimes......"

Yang Wu's purpose in taking down Zhang Chong this time was to beat the generals so that they could no longer act as recklessly as in the past, so he not only made the matter as big as possible during the trial, but also allowed the generals to watch.

But this is the purpose of beating the generals, and now the generals know that it is not okay to act recklessly like in the past, so Yang Wu can also accept it when he sees it, and tell the generals in the way of pardon that he Yang Wu is not the one who crossed the river and demolished the bridge, and he has not forgotten their merits.

Of course, Zhang Chong's capital crime is pardoned, but it is impossible not to give no punishment at all, what kind of warning is that then?

So in the end, Yang Wu decided to confiscate most of his family property, remove him from his position, and let him go home to retire.

This sentence is much lighter than the previous one, but Zhang Chong has gone from being a general with a heavy army and a promising future to being suddenly demoted home for retirement, this punishment must be enough to warn other generals, right?

"Many of the generals present are my Huainan meritorious veterans, and they are much earlier than Gu in terms of qualifications. But merit is merit and demerit, and you can't run amok and ignore the prohibition of loneliness just because you have made merit. Today's Zhang Chong's case is the first time, so Gu pardoned him for capital crimes, but there will be no such good things in the future. In the future, if there are still generals who dare to bend the law so wantonly, Lone will never be spared! ”

On the side, including Qin Pei, Li Jian and other generals, they were all awe-inspiring in their hearts, knowing that Yang Wu's words just now were indeed not just talking, but really planning to do so.

In the future, if there are still generals who dare to run amok against the law, I am afraid that Yang Wu will really be a killer.

These generals may not be as bold as Zhang Chong and dare to openly violate Yang Wu's ban, but they are not just people who are well-behaved, and they have done some illegal things more or less secretly, so they all secretly reflect on their past actions at this time.

Seeing that everyone looked pensive, Yang Wu knew that his words had been listened to by everyone, and immediately took the opportunity to announce that from now on, unless military law was enforced on the battlefield, the generals would not be allowed to kill people at will.

When saying this, Yang Wu deliberately glanced at Li Jian, and Li Jian did a particularly serious job in terms of brutality and killing.

His family members were often killed for minor mistakes, but the government never dared to take care of them.

As for him in the army, he is even more strict with his subordinate generals, and if he is not satisfied, he will be beheaded in the name of military orders.

In fact, in this era, an important reason why many generals were able to completely control an army and act recklessly was because they held the power of life and death in their hands, and the generals did not dare to confront it at all.

Yang Wu had long been disgusted by these behaviors, but this time he banned them.

Of course, Yang Wu also knows that in many cases, it is difficult to let military orders pass without killing, so on the battlefield or on some special occasions, generals can kill people without trial, but sometimes the cause and process of the matter must be reported to the military justice department.

Li Jian was originally awe-inspiring in his heart after seeing the trial of Zhang Chong, but at this time, he was even more shocked when he saw Yang Wu looking at him with a slightly warning gaze.

Fortunately, he also knew that Yang Wu was only warning him at the moment and would not really take him down, but if he didn't know how to restrain himself and continued to act recklessly, then maybe Yang Wu would have to cut him.

As for Zhang Chong, although this person was dismissed from office and confiscated half of his family property, it is good to be able to save his life and the other half of his family property, and the resentment in his heart is much smaller at this time.

"That's it, in the future, I will be a rich man, and I will retire with peace of mind!"

The only one who expressed dissatisfaction with Yang Wu's verdict was Zhou Yin, because Yang Wu clearly said that he would not interfere with his verdict, but in the end, there was a pardon, and the things that offended people emotionally were left to him, but he came out to be a good person?