"Venerable Master Liu, the orphanage you established in Songjiang Prefecture back then, out of the infants it took in, less than one in a thousand survived. Where did all those infants go? If, as you say, they all perished, then where are the bodies of these infants?"
"Venerable Master Liu, beside the opium dens you opened, there was another establishment, the Chen Family Money House. For those who smoked the 'Prosperity and Longevity Paste' in your dens until they had no money left, you would direct them to your money house to borrow. Nine out of ten, with interest paid eighteen times over, is that not so?"
"Venerable Master Liu, you sent your eldest and second sons to the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire respectively, and had them procure numerous books like 'Tiangong Kaiwu' and 'Illustrated Treatises on Firearms.' What exactly were you trying to achieve?"
"..."
One life-or-death question after another was posed, leaving Venerable Master Liu feeling dazed and overwhelmed.
Among these chaotic questions were many wrongdoings committed during the Jianyi era, as well as many that occurred after Zhu Jinsong ascended the throne as Emperor.
What was even more fatal was that these wrongdoings, one by one, were not fabricated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to slander him; they were indeed committed by Venerable Master Liu himself!
After all the miscellaneous questions were asked, Jiang Xinlong, the leader of the Songjiang Prefecture Farmers' Association, said with a cold smile to Venerable Master Liu, "Today, the elders and folks of Songjiang Prefecture are all here, and even the villagers from your Liu Family Manor, Venerable Master Liu, are not absent. We request Venerable Master Liu to explain himself properly, lest the villagers misunderstand you!"
However, after Jiang Xinlong's words fell, the onlookers erupted!
"Venerable Master Liu opened opium dens and charged exorbitant interest rates? Hiss~~~ Nine out of ten, paid eighteen? Such a black heart!"
"He sent his two sons to sea, to the Ottoman Empire or the Holy Roman Empire? Hasn't our Great Ming declared war on the Ottoman Empire? And, I heard England and France are also attacking the Holy Roman Empire. What is he sending his sons there for at this time? To their deaths?"
"'Tiangong Kaiwu'? Isn't that just a book? It shouldn't be a problem to take it out and read it, right?"
A merchant standing with his hands clasped suddenly spoke from the crowd, "It's no problem, what nonsense! These books contain methods for making firearms. If they take these books out, wouldn't the barbarians easily learn how to manufacture firearms? Good, using the books of our Great Ming to teach those barbarians how to make firearms, and then have them turn around and attack our Great Ming?"
Seeing the disbelief on the faces of the surrounding populace, the merchant scoffed again, "If you don't believe me, you can go to any library in various places and see for yourselves. Which library allows barbarians to access the second-floor library rooms?"
"As far as I know, in all libraries of our Great Ming, the first floor is open to anyone, even those barbarians without Great Ming household registration. But from the second floor onwards, one needs to present Great Ming household registration or a student ID from an academy to gain access. As for the third floor and higher, even overseas students are not allowed up, only citizens of Great Ming or scholars of Great Ming.
"Coincidentally, 'Tiangong Kaiwu' is on the second floor, and the 'Illustrated Treatises on Firearms' is even on the third floor. This dog-like fellow wants to take these books overseas. What do you think his intentions are?"
Having said this, the merchant spat again, "This dog-like fellow has a blind heart! Now, the barbarians of the entire small broken sphere are desperately trying to enter our Great Ming, all of them are struggling to learn our official language, not knowing how difficult it is. Yet they want to find ways to sell out our Great Ming. If you ask me, they should be cut into pieces, their whole family!"
As the merchant finished speaking, the surrounding populace became agitated, shouting, "Flog him! Flog him!"
"Exterminate his clan!"
"Slicing him into a thousand pieces!"
Hearing the shouts of the surrounding populace, Jiang Xinlong decisively slammed the gavel. After the crowd had slightly quieted down, he looked at Venerable Master Liu and said, "Venerable Master Liu, do you have anything else to say?"
Venerable Master Liu had already collapsed to the ground.
Venerable Master Liu knew very well that the wrongdoings he had committed could not be easily washed clean, even with great effort. Moreover, with the public outcry, and the people shouting for the extermination of his clan, how could he possibly have time to clear his name?
After some thought, Venerable Master Liu hardened his heart and said, "Reporting to Your Lordship, I admit to all these wrongdoings! My heart was blinded by greed, my sole focus was on accumulating wealth, and I deserve to die!"
"However, these matters were all my own doing and have nothing to do with others. Whether it be Liu Chuanshan or Liu Yuanqing, or even Uncle Liu Er, who reported me, they were all acting on my orders. This matter has nothing to do with them, I implore Your Lordship to discern this!"
The inspecting censor let out a cold laugh and said, "Venerable Master Liu, the letter instructing someone to purchase books like 'Tiangong Kaiwu' and 'Illustrated Treatises on Firearms' was found in the study of your eldest son, Liu Chuanshan. Through handwriting comparison, it can be confirmed that it was personally written by your eldest son, Liu Chuanshan. Now you claim that Liu Chuanshan was acting on your instructions. Are you taking the learned scholar Liu Chuanshan, who obtained his jinshi degree after years of hard work, for a fool? Or are you taking us, the inspecting censors, the Censorate officials, the Farmers' Association, and our colleagues from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, for fools?"
Venerable Master Liu insisted, "He was indeed acting on my instructions! I am his father. If I ordered it, how could he dare disobey?"
The merchant in the crowd opportunely explained to the surrounding populace, "This is what is called cutting off an arm to survive—Venerable Master Liu is taking all the blame upon himself, solely to protect his two sons, in the hope that his sons might have a chance to rise again."
On the public trial platform, Jiang Xinlong mockingly said to Venerable Master Liu, "Venerable Master Liu, your willingness to sacrifice your own life to save your two sons is indeed admirable."
"However, you have forgotten one thing—the wrongdoings you have committed, when added together, already constitute the grave crime of destroying one's family. Even if you take all the blame upon yourself, it will not be able to save your sons!"
Venerable Master Liu immediately became enraged, looking at Jiang Xinlong and shouting, "As the saying goes, one man's actions are his own responsibility. How can the things I have done implicate my sons? Furthermore, since the tenth year of the Sacred Emperor's reign, my two sons and I have already separated our households. Although we live together, in the eyes of the authorities, we are already three separate families. Even if Your Lordship intends to exterminate my entire clan, it will not extend to them!"
After shouting, Venerable Master Liu turned his gaze to the surrounding populace and said, "Villagers! Whatever mistakes I, Liu, have made, I admit them all!"
"However, the Great Ming imperial court has clearly stipulated that citizens are allowed to separate their households. Yet, these officials, even after I have separated my household, still intend to kill my two sons. They are disregarding the laws of Great Ming! Today, if you do not speak up for me, tomorrow it will be your turn. Who will speak up for you then?"
The surrounding populace felt a sense of helplessness. If they were to speak up for Venerable Master Liu, the common people naturally would not want to. But if they allowed these officials to arbitrarily trample on the laws of Great Ming, the people truly worried that the same situation might befall them.
At this moment, Jiang Xinlong let out a chuckle and declared loudly, "Utter nonsense! Venerable Master Liu, the separation of households stipulated in the laws of Great Ming refers to siblings separating from each other, or uncles and nephews separating. Where does it say a father and son can separate their households!"
"According to your situation, you have two sons. Even if they separated, it would be Liu Chuanshan or Liu Yuanqing..."