12dz Was Chapter 449, the public trial, a waste of time?
Was Chapter 449, the public trial, a waste of time?
Upon hearing Li Xiangyang's question, a smug look instantly appeared on Wang Ergou's face: "The verdict has been reached regarding the armed conflict in Yangjia Village. The public trial is scheduled for 10 a.m. this morning in town. Should we go and watch?"
"A public trial?" Li Xiangyang was slightly taken aback.
In his previous life, he left the village early and rarely participated in such matters, so he was not familiar with public trials.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoyun frowned: "What's the point of watching a public trial? It's bad luck."
"Hey, sister-in-law, you don't understand," Wang Ergou waved his hand. "This is a great opportunity to broaden our horizons! Those guys were armed; in the old days, they'd be executed. Now at least they get a public trial, how novel! Let's go, Xiangyang, if we want to see some excitement, we'd better hurry, or we might miss everything."
Although reluctant to get involved, Li Xiangyang immediately nodded, since they had almost become the opposing side in the conflict: "Okay, I'll go take a look. Xiaoyun, you stay home and rest well, don't worry about it."
Li Xiaoyun touched her increasingly protruding belly, and although she was dissatisfied, she didn't insist anymore: "You guys go ahead, but come back soon."
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou quickly packed up and headed towards the town.
The two rode their bicycles one after the other towards the town.
"Ergou," Li Xiangyang asked as he rode, "do you know roughly how much they'll be sentenced to?"
Wang Ergou shook his head: "Who knows? But I heard that the leader of Yangjia Village isn't a good person, he'll definitely get a heavy sentence this time."
When we arrived at the town square, we could see a huge crowd of people from afar.
A high platform was erected in the middle of the square, with tables and chairs placed on it and the national emblem hanging on it, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
The two parked their bicycles and squeezed into the crowd.
Because they arrived relatively early, they found a spot with a decent view.
"Hey, look, isn't that Zhang Dashan?" Wang Ergou suddenly pointed to a familiar figure not far away and said.
Li Xiangyang looked in the direction he was pointing and saw Zhang Dashan standing furtively at the edge of the crowd. His face was pale, but his eyes were unusually alert, and he kept looking around.
"Looks like you're still recovering from last night's fright," Li Xiangyang chuckled softly.
Wang Ergou looked puzzled: "What fright?"
Li Xiangyang briefly recounted what had happened last night, and Wang Ergou burst into laughter after hearing it: "Serves him right! Who told him to do so many despicable things? If you ask me, you shouldn't have bothered with him..."
As they were talking, the atmosphere in the square suddenly became tense.
Several trucks slowly drove into the square, with uniformed law enforcement officers sitting inside.
The crowd automatically parted to make way for the vehicles.
"It's starting!" Wang Ergou whispered.
After the truck stopped, the defendants were escorted by law enforcement officers to the platform.
Among them were people from Yangjia Village and Heping Village. They all had their heads down, their expressions filled with fear and regret, standing there dejectedly like wilted eggplants.
"Silence!" With a loud shout, the entire square fell silent instantly.
"Today, we are holding a public trial here to hear the case of five villagers from Yangjia Village who, in a dispute over prey, illegally possessed firearms and endangered public safety." The middle-aged man's voice was loud and clear.
A murmur rippled through the crowd below the stage, but quickly subsided.
"Now, the prosecutor will read the indictment." The middle-aged man gestured to the young man beside him.
The young man stood up, unfolded the document in his hand, and began to read aloud: "On the morning of April 15th this year..."
As the indictment was read, gasps of surprise occasionally rose from the crowd.
It turned out that the five men had gotten into a fight over two wild boars, and ended up pointing guns at each other in the woods near the village. After a chaotic brawl, two of them sustained minor injuries.
After the charges were read, the presiding judge began to question the five defendants about their attitude towards the indictment. The five men, dejected, each admitted their wrongdoing.
"Defendant Li Shoushan, do you know that possessing a hunting rifle is illegal?" the presiding judge asked sternly.
The middle-aged man standing at the front said in a trembling voice, "I don't know."
"Where did you get your gun?"
"It's...it's the old hunting rifle my grandfather left behind..."
The presiding judge then questioned several other people, and their answers were mostly similar.
The interrogation lasted for nearly an hour, and finally the presiding judge announced a 15-minute recess for the jury to deliberate.
During the recess, a murmur arose from the crowd below the stage.
After all, these days, quite a few families have inherited guns from their ancestors. If they were to be convicted on this basis, there would be a lot of them...
A short while later, the presiding judge returned to the table and announced that the trial would continue.
The entire room fell silent once again.
"After deliberation by the jury, the verdict is now announced." The presiding judge's voice echoed across the silent playground, "Defendants Li Shoushan, Yang Ming, Wang Defa, Liu Er, and Zhang Sanbao are guilty of illegal possession of firearms and endangering public safety. Given that the firearms were all inherited from their ancestors, a lighter sentence is imposed for the illegal possession of firearms. The sentence is now..."
After the verdict was announced, the five defendants were led away from the scene, and the judges on the stage also left one after another after reminding the public to obtain the necessary permits for carrying firearms.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, Li Xiangyang was about to leave when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
"Isn't that Zhao Minghui?" Li Xiangyang pointed him out to Wang Ergou.
Wang Ergou squinted and looked at him: "It really is him! He's probably here to broaden his horizons."
"Brother Xiangyang, Brother Ergou, you're here too?"
At this moment, Zhao Minghui also saw the two of them, walked over, and had a friendly smile on his face.
"Hmm, I've come to take a look," Li Xiangyang replied casually.
Zhao Minghui looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "You all heard that. I'm telling you, this public trial is very educational. What happened in Yangjia Village is just the beginning. The penalties for illegal possession of firearms will only become more severe in the future; even if you have a license, you'll have to be careful."
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou exchanged a glance and understood Zhao Minghui's good intentions.
As Zhao Minghui said, even if you have a certificate, you still have to be careful, because things might change someday.
“Thank you for the reminder,” Li Xiangyang nodded. “We will be careful.”
The three chatted briefly for a few more minutes before parting ways.
After saying goodbye to Zhao Minghui, the two rode their bicycles through the country lanes.
The warm sunshine of early spring shone on my body, and the distant mountain ranges were clearly outlined.
"You mean our hunting rifles..." Wang Ergou hesitated, then stopped.
Li Xiangyang sighed, "Let's wait and see. A complete ban on guns isn't practical these days. You need to be extra careful to hide them well, otherwise, if someone steals them, it'll be a big problem."
"Yes, you'd better hide it well when you're not using it. Speaking of which, I have some news for you: they're going to build an irrigation canal in this area, and the town has already approved the funding."
"Building irrigation canals? That's great! With canals, we can reclaim more wasteland."
"Who says otherwise? It's just that once construction starts, we'll become free labor..."
"What kind of ideology do you have? Did you watch the public trial for nothing? Let me tell you, it's fine if you tell me, but if someone with ulterior motives uses this against you..."
"Hey, I'm not stupid..."