Chapter 1902 - The Public Trial

These words caught Shen Ruiming somewhat off guard—he genuinely hadn't considered this. In his recollection, Elders had served as defense counsel only during the Simplified Tribunal's establishment and the Maidservant Case. In all other instances, defendants essentially spoke for themselves. Although the Senate permitted defendants to find their own advocates, few could afford one, and even among the gentry, few knew this provision existed.

Shen Ruiming pondered briefly before replying: "Nearly all the Elders in Guangzhou are extremely busy. As I mentioned earlier, only young Elder Zhang is available to assist. Perhaps I should handle the prosecution alone and assign the defense to Elder Zhang."

Liu Xiang considered this. "Can young Zhang handle it? This case is as bloody as a Thai horror film. Setting aside her lack of practical legal experience—can a young girl even stomach this?"

"We'll see how it goes after I meet with her. Fundamentally, this trial is a grand performance we're staging for Guangzhou natives. Without one of the principal players, the show will lose much of its impact."

"In that case, let's hold a meeting tomorrow." Liu Xiang reflected further—the memorial ceremony alone still felt somewhat lacking in its effect of "educating the masses." Adding a grand-scale public trial would clearly enhance that...

Early the next morning, Shen Ruiming washed up, grabbed his briefcase, and headed to the Guangzhou Municipal Government.

He'd originally assumed the Elders would relax somewhat after taking the city. To his surprise, he arrived last in the conference room. Face reddening slightly, Shen Ruiming greeted several Elders, noticed Zhang Yunmi had already arrived, and nodded to her.

"How are you feeling? Ready mentally?"

"Oh dear, actually in the old timeline I was just an elementary school student—at Fangcaodi I mainly studied foreign languages. I'm completely clueless about law..."

"Haven't you been helping me organize case files lately? That makes you something like a law firm's legal assistant." Shen Ruiming waved his hand, signaling Zhang Yunmi not to interrupt. "I know you want to say you have no experience and so forth. Don't worry—everyone starts as a blank slate. Back when I first went to court with my mentor..."

Seeing Shen Ruiming beginning to wallow in self-congratulation, Zhang Yunmi quickly redirected the conversation: "Legal work is rather specialized, isn't it? I've never had any contact with this kind of knowledge. If I botch the defense attorney's job, that wouldn't be good—besides, for this pack of heartless, inhuman creatures, I really can't muster any enthusiasm to defend them."

"It's actually not as difficult as you imagine, and you don't need to write a defense brief. In reality, this trial is only superficially a trial—its essence is merely a grand performance staged for the natives." Since no natives were present, he didn't worry about being overheard. "Of course, 'grand performance' isn't a pejorative term here. Rather, it means this is a modern legal education lesson for the citizens of Guangzhou. Your appearance as defense counsel is an important component of our judicial trial. Using this as a template, we'll show the people how to properly conduct legal proceedings. This benefits the people and also lightens our own workload."

Shen Ruiming further explained the trial's key points—the public trial, public sentencing, and public execution would enhance native participation. Although adopting the common law system's "jury trial" might seem more conducive to "mass participation," given current social conditions, it would essentially give local gentry a green light to meddle in the judiciary.

"You're a woman—in traditional thinking, women embody benevolence and compassion. And you're also an Elder. Having you appear as defense counsel couldn't be more appropriate."

"To be honest, I really don't want to defend these beasts—just reading the case materials makes me want to vomit!" Zhang Yunmi still harbored psychological resistance.

Shen Ruiming offered further encouragement. Liu Xiang and Liang Xinhu also rallied her, finally stabilizing her emotions.

Today's meeting essentially served as a "director's conference"—a thorough review of trial procedures for tomorrow's public trial of the thirteen principal defendants, ensuring optimal effect.

All legal documents had been carefully revised—opening statements, indictments, defense briefs, even confessions and witness testimonies. Shen Ruiming's requirement: "No loopholes, no logical problems, complete in every detail."

The first two points proved relatively easy—after all, they had solid evidence and weren't fabricating false cases. But "complete in every detail"—those four words presented real difficulty. The prisoners had endured countless torments, tortured to the brink of death and back, all to extract specific details from their memories.

The prisoners had all privately accepted a deal: confess and follow trial procedures. In exchange, Shen Ruiming guaranteed two things—first, they would not suffer lingchi (death by a thousand cuts); second, after death, their bodies would not be handed over to Cui Hantang for disposal. The latter prospect seemed to frighten these cold-blooded killers even more than the former.

Nevertheless, Shen Ruiming insisted on preparing contingency plans, particularly for gathering witness testimony and physical evidence—in case any defendant suddenly recanted or testimonies contained discrepancies.

"This is our first lesson in modern law for Guangzhou—indeed, for all the people of the Ming. A legal education. Mere success is insufficient. Our standard is 'perfect and flawless!'" Shen Ruiming declared.

The day of the public trial arrived swiftly. For several blocks around the Guangzhou Municipal Court, crowds packed so tightly that not even water could trickle through. The scene resembled a temple fair, as everyone wanted to witness how the Australians would interrogate these criminals.

The special serialized supplement from the Yangcheng Express covering the "Maojia Inn Case" had been running for days. Each new edition was snatched up immediately. Within two or three shichen (four to six hours), crude pirated copies printed with clay movable type and ink would appear—produced by the same people who used to print the dibao (court gazette).

The extensive network of Public Opinion Officers had also been tirelessly stationed in teahouses, taverns, and by wells in front of and behind houses, continuously sharing various "secrets" from the materials they'd been issued.

Thus, even before the trial began, public sentiment had been fully mobilized.

At this moment, a sea of people surrounded the Guangzhou Municipal Court. The National Army and police maintaining order had no choice but to set up a cordon around the perimeter, forbidding entry to the streets surrounding the court. Many people simply climbed onto rooftops, using distant views to satisfy their curiosity.

Vendors squeezed through the crowds, loudly hawking cigarettes, seeds, Australian candies, braised chicken feet, duck necks, and chicken and duck heads. Crude pamphlets were also for sale—collected and pirated reprints of the Yangcheng Express supplements.

"Chief, it's almost time."

The secretary reminded Elder Liang Xinhu, who had been resting with his eyes closed in a rattan chair. Today he was formally dressed: a black judicial robe with a badge on his chest depicting balanced scales beneath a Morning Star—somewhat reminiscent of the Ming and Qing buzi rank badges.

Liang Xinhu nodded and rose. The secretary hurried to place a Song-style black gauze cap with long lateral wings on his head, then handed him a thick mockup of the "Imperial Legal Code"—a mockup because the code hadn't actually been compiled yet. Once completed, a single dictionary-sized volume wouldn't suffice. This was merely a prop.

This ensemble could be described as a fusion of past and present, East and West, fully embodying the Senate's progressiveness in jurisprudence.

Liang Xinhu's expression remained serene, his bearing dignified as he walked into the Guangzhou Municipal Court. In the gallery, many Elders and quite a few Guangzhou gentry had already arrived. Liu Xiang was absent today, replaced by Lin Baiguang. Among the local gentry, Master Gao Ju naturally wouldn't decline—though he could only be considered a merchant. Several prominent gentry figures with substantial reputations had come—not stewards or branch family members, but the heads themselves.

The courtroom had been converted from a traditional gongtang (public hall), originally accommodating only fifty or sixty spectators. Today, to expand the event's influence, all chairs had been removed except for the reserved gallery. The room was now packed; the luckiest had squeezed all the way to the iron railing of the trial area.

White Horse Battalion soldiers maintained order inside the court. Though spectators competed to squeeze forward for a better view, and though there were extraordinarily many of them, the gleaming bayonets kept the crowd in basic order.

When the judge appeared, an immediate stir rippled through the crowd. Like a wave, it rapidly propagated from inside the court to the surrounding streets.

"All rise for the judge!"

The sudden loud voice startled everyone. Fortunately, interpreters positioned throughout the crowd by the Propaganda Office informed spectators that this was a loudspeaker specially arranged by the Senate, allowing those unable to sit inside to know in real time what was happening within.

The crackling noise from the loudspeaker continued for some time, but soon quieted. The crowd outside also seemed to sense something and gradually fell silent.

Liang Xinhu strode to the judge's bench, settled into the high-backed chair, raised the gavel and struck it three times:

"Court is now in session!"

Liang Xinhu's secretary served as the court clerk for this trial. After reading the courtroom rules, Shen Ruiming also entered through the aisle and took his seat at the prosecutor's table.

Zhang Yunmi's appearance caused a stir among the crowd inside. First, few were familiar with the concept of "defense counsel." Although Guangzhou had so-called "litigation masters," they generally didn't appear in court—moreover, litigation masters typically only handled civil cases. For such a major criminal case, ordinary people would avoid it like the plague, so who would volunteer to involve themselves? Besides, the Maojia Inn case was utterly depraved—what possible reason could there be to "defend" it? Second, there was naturally the stir caused by her identity as a "female Elder."

That female Elders existed among the Australians was no longer news in Guangzhou. But this female Elder before them was not only beautiful but young—and she was appearing as a "litigation master." This was truly shocking.

"Have the Australians gone mad? Providing defense for such criminals?"

"Drag them out and slice them to pieces—feeding their flesh and organs to pigs and dogs would be too good for them!"

"And bringing such a pretty young lady to serve as advocate—these Australians really are imaginative..."

"Too tall... and her feet are too big too..."