My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Chapter 130: Public Trial is Justified

After everyone at the scene opened their Yin-Yang eyes, they all screamed in fear. Jiang Li slapped the table again and said, "Silence."

Then he put his hand together and pointed his sword at Li Xiaohong and said sternly, "Li Xiaohong, listen carefully. I am Jiang Li, the county magistrate of Teng Teng County. I know that you died unjustly, so I specially set up this court to publicly try Li Youcai. If you have any grievances, just tell me, and I will definitely make the decision for you."

Uncle Jiu untied Li Xiaohong's grip upon hearing this, and she heard Li Xiaohong shouting out in injustice, "I am innocent, please help me, sir!"

Jiang Li said, "Just talk, everyone is listening!"

Li Xiaohong cried and said, "I lost my virginity to him when I was twelve years old. My parents went to him to argue with him, but he was so cruel that he killed them all."

"Then he took me home by force and took possession of me for a long time. When I was fifteen, he got tired of playing with me and found a new lover outside, so he planned to have me gang-raped."

"Then they falsely accused me of adultery and used that as an excuse to put me in a pig cage. I died a miserable death. Please, sir, help me!"

The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Her body began to shake violently, with signs of her turning into a fierce ghost.

Uncle Jiu immediately cast a spell to restrain him and her upon seeing this. Jiang Li also spoke to comfort her, "Li Xiaohong, I know you are anxious, but don't worry. Let me get to the bottom of this case. Then I will definitely give you justice!"

Li Xiaohong's ghost body stabilized slightly after hearing this, and Uncle Jiu let her go.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Jiang Li asked sternly, "Li Youcai, do you plead guilty?"

Li Youcai was so frightened at this time that his face turned pale, but he still refused to plead guilty. Li Xiaohong was about to go berserk again after hearing this, but Uncle Jiu stopped her again.

Jiang Li said loudly, "Li Xiaohong, you said he hired someone to gang rape you. Do you know who they are?"

Li Xiaohong said quickly, "My Lord, I know them. They are Wang Mazi, Li Ergou and Lai Touqi. Even if I turn into a ghost, I will never forget them."

Jiang Li was furious when he heard the name Er Gou, and immediately said to the three Taoist soldiers, "Find a few people to lead the way and tie up these three guys."

There was a commotion in the crowd at this time, and soon a voice shouted, "Wang Mazi, Li Ergou, and Lai Touqi are here."

As they were talking, three guys with rat-like faces came up, and the people who caught them said excitedly, "These guys were in the crowd just now. When they saw that the situation was not right, they wanted to escape. Fortunately, we caught them red-handed."

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Well done. If what Xiao Hong said is true, then when this case is over, each of you will be rewarded with ten dollars. Now you can leave first!"

The few people who helped with the arrest immediately returned to the crowd with smiles on their faces.

After Jiang Li checked the identities of the three people, he asked, "You all heard what Li Xiaohong said just now. Do you have anything else to say?"

The three dared not admit it after hearing it, and they denied it one after another, "He seduced us, we did not frame her."

Li Xiaohong was about to go berserk again, but Uncle Jiu held her down with one hand and she couldn't move.

Jiang Li said without further ado, "Well, since you admit to adultery, you should be thrown into the pig cage with Li Xiaohong!"

"Someone put them in a pig cage and let them know what it means to be polite and moral."

The three were so frightened when they heard that, they immediately dropped their defense and told Li Youcai everything about their dealings with him, including murder, robbery, and bribery of the mayor.

Everyone present was furious when they heard this and demanded that they be shot.

Jiang Li slammed the table and shouted, "Li Youcai, do you have anything else to say? Your accomplice has already confessed!"

At this point, the four of them had no time to argue, and they just kept shirking responsibility. Seeing that they had stopped arguing, Jiang Li directly pronounced the verdict, "Li Youcai, Li Mazi, Li Ergou, Lai Touqi, the four of you have committed many evil deeds, and you even conspired to kill Li Xiaohong."

"The Great Qing Code, Criminal Law, Murder Law stipulates that if a person is the mastermind of a murder, he shall be executed in prison; if he is an accomplice, he shall be hanged in prison; if he is an accomplice but does not commit the murder, he shall be caned 100 times and exiled 3,000 miles."

"Because the four of you are direct participants, I, the county magistrate, now sentence you four to be beheaded at noon tomorrow. Do you have any doubts?"

The four men were so frightened upon hearing this that they turned pale and kowtowed and begged for mercy. Li Youcai even took out all his wealth and begged Jiang Li to show mercy, but Jiang Li was just trying to establish his authority, so how could he accept his money?

He said directly to several Taoist soldiers, "Tie them up and behead them here at noon tomorrow!"

When everyone heard the verdict, they shouted "Justice, Lord" on the spot. Li Xiaohong kowtowed repeatedly to express her gratitude.

When the crowd quieted down, Jiang Li said, "You don't have to be like this. I am the head of the county and I will naturally uphold justice for everyone."

"Also, let me explain here that I closed down that opium den because it harms both people and themselves. Once people get addicted to it, they will become addicted."

"By then, they will do anything, including cheating, extortion, and blackmail. The key is that if you are too deeply involved in this stuff, it will also make people lose their fertility. So if you encounter this kind of thing in the future, you must report it to the police in time and never tolerate it."

Jiang Li knew that Taoist Master Tulong would soon use a corpse to transport poison here, and when he arrived, he would be able to deal with him with a legitimate reason.

At this time, someone asked, "What about those who are already infected? Should we just let them die on their own?"

Jiang Li said seriously, "Of course not. The addiction to opium can be cured. Just tie them up so that they can't smoke opium. They can be cured in a month or so. As long as they don't get addicted to opium again, they won't relapse."

"But quitting smoking is very painful and requires special personnel to supervise and a special place to stay, so I decided to use part of Li Youcai's property to open a smoking cessation center, and of course compensate all the victims who were bullied and harmed by him."

Everyone cheered when they heard this. Jiang Li saw that the desired effect had been achieved, so he asked everyone to disperse. He left two Taoist soldiers to guard him and then took his men away.

When everyone returned to the inn, Jiang Li looked at Uncle Jiu and said, "Master, do you think my approach is appropriate?"

Uncle Jiu heard this and said, "Your handling of this matter couldn't be better. After the execution tomorrow, I will help Li Xiaohong to be reborn. Then this matter will be perfectly resolved."

Jiang Li looked at Uncle Jiu and said, "Master, is it really okay for you to put Li Xiaohong on the judgment stand? If she runs out and kills those people, I'm afraid she won't be able to be reincarnated, right?"

Uncle Jiu said, "It's okay. I put a talisman on the coffin and told your two men to keep an eye on it. Don't let anyone get away with it, so she can't get out."

After hearing what Uncle Jiu said, Jiang Li was no longer worried. After all, if there was any problem, it could be easily solved with Uncle Jiu and himself around.

Then Jiang Li ordered a few dishes and ate them. He went back to the guest room to practice martial arts. He lay down to rest after practicing for two hours.