met free Page 494
Page 494
"Your Majesty, the Prefect is a good official!"
"In the past ten years, the best official and the one who loves the people the most in our Dongping Prefecture is Prefect Cheng. Liangshan cannot harm the Prefect."
"Chief, the Prefect has been kind to the people of Dongping Prefecture. Please, Chief, show mercy!"
......
The people were discussing it animatedly.
This left Gao Liang somewhat stunned.
She hadn't expected that there would still be people gathered at the government office gate that morning.
They cursed Prefect Cheng for his character and official conduct.
By the afternoon,
And then so many more ordinary people suddenly appeared.
They pleaded for mercy on Magistrate Cheng.
Seeing that the sorghum was surrounded by a crowd of people,
They were clearly at a loss.
Zhao Yuan quickly pulled her behind him.
He then raised his hand to signal to the crowd.
Listen to him first.
"Fellow villagers, we Liangshan people stand up for the people and uphold justice."
"We will never let a corrupt official go unpunished, but we will never wrong a good official."
"Tomorrow morning, at the entrance of the Dongping Prefecture government office,"
"The Liangshan Society will hold a public trial to investigate the case of Prefect Cheng's extortion of bribes."
"If any of you people feel that Prefect Cheng has been wronged,"
"They are all free to go on stage and defend Prefect Cheng!"
After saying this,
Zhao Yuan, under the protection of his personal guards,
They quickly pulled the sorghum,
Squeezed out of the crowd.
Gao Liang turned around and looked at the people behind him who were pleading for Cheng Wanli.
I couldn't help but say,
"I never imagined that the changes in the people would be so great."
"That's why I said the people know perfectly well what's going on,"
Zhao Yuan laughed.
"Putting aside other things, Dongping Prefecture has had three different prefects in the past ten years."
"It's better to live under a certain prefect than to live under a certain one."
"These people know this firsthand,"
"How could we not know who the good officials are and who the bad officials are!"
"So, you can rest assured,"
"If this Prefect Cheng is truly good to the people, the people will come forward to plead for him tomorrow."
......
What Zhao Yuan said at the gate of the prefect's mansion,
The news quickly spread to the backyard of the government office.
When Cheng Wan'er and her mother learned that...
Liangshan will be on the second day.
In front of the people,
During the interrogation of Cheng Wanli regarding his solicitation of bribes,
Cheng's mother immediately panicked.
"Wan'er, Liangshan really intends to hold your father accountable. What should we do?"
“Mother, this is just a public trial, not a trial to determine guilt,”
Cheng Wan'er recalled what she had seen and heard on Liangshan Mountain.
He explained to his mother,
"Although my father has made the mistake of soliciting bribes from wealthy gentry and merchants,"
"But over the past year or so, they have shown great care and concern for the people."
"If some common people plead for mercy tomorrow, Liangshan certainly won't make things too difficult for our Cheng family..."
Chapter 649 Public Trial of the Prefect
the next day,
The sky was slightly overcast.
Early in the morning,
Because Liangshan was promoting yesterday.
They wanted to interrogate Cheng Wanli at the entrance of the prefectural government office.
Early in the morning,
A large number of idle people gathered there, waiting to see what the commotion was about.
quickly,
Those merchants and gentry who were extorted by Cheng Wanli,
They all rushed over together.
Judging from their constant whispering and gritting of teeth,
It was obviously already agreed upon.
Today, I'm going to teach Cheng Wanli a lesson he won't forget.
As the sun slowly rises...
There were also many people whose expressions ranged from hesitant to resolute.
They came over in groups of three or five.
Upon seeing these people,
Those merchants and gentry immediately turned fierce.
Some wealthy merchants even wanted to bring their servants forward.
Let's show these people what's what.
To avoid letting them ruin today's plans.
But before they had taken two steps...
He was stopped by his companions.
"What are you doing? Don't you want to live anymore?"
"The soldiers from Liangshan are right next door,"
"They saw you bullying those peasants, do you still want to live today?"
"Oh dear, how could I have forgotten about that?"
The wealthy businessman then realized what was happening.
He quickly stopped in his tracks.
A companion standing nearby tried to persuade those around them.
"Today, we are the victims,"
"Please, everyone, don't act rashly!"
"Although Liangshan constantly talks about seeking justice for the people,"
"But their actions clearly favor those from humble backgrounds,"
“We wealthy gentlemen are thorns in their side, a constant source of trouble for them,”
"At this time, you must not do anything wrong or provoke them."
After these wealthy gentlemen had discussed and agreed on their terms,
The crowd gathered at the entrance of the government office was growing larger and larger.
quickly,
At the hour of Si (9-11 AM),
Accompanied by several gong sounds,
Two groups of Liangshan soldiers emerged from the prefectural government office.
Maintaining order at the entrance of the government office,
Then,
The jailer from the official prison led Cheng Wanli to the entrance of the government office.
Just one night later,
The originally dashing Prefect Cheng
He looked much older.
He stood at the entrance of the prefectural government office.
But he hesitated.
He didn't step out for a long time.
"My lord, what's wrong?"
Prison Chief Li urged in a low voice.
"It's time to go out."
".....Um,"
Although Cheng Wanli verbally agreed,
But beneath their feet,
But he just couldn't take that step out.
Scholars are inherently very concerned about their reputation.
Cheng Wanli was no exception.
In the past,
When his reputation as an official was good
They were not afraid to leave the government office.
Facing the people.
But today,
The thought of soliciting bribes from wealthy gentry...