CH 123

Elder Cheng turned on the projector, allowing the guards to display the evidence on the big screen one by one, and said, "Without a doubt, this is a shameless frame-up. I suggest we immediately cease the accusations against Lin Wen."

Lai Juncheng never expected that a mere warm-up event would turn out like this.

He argued loudly, "I have plenty of evidence! This villain has nearly violated all the imperial laws that can be triggered! This is just the least significant of his evil deeds!"

Elder Xu glanced at Lin Wen and said, "I second that."

Elder Wang remained silent.

Elder Ye said, "Let's skip this stage then, and proceed directly to the interrogation."

This was a compromise solution, agreed upon by all three elders.

The interrogation was more direct, equivalent to a cross-examination. Although it could also list the charges, it lacked the multiple accusations established during the review stage, so its power would be much less.

Due to the failure of his two accusations, Lai Juncheng was now at a significant disadvantage. There were still many neutral officials in the field. They each had their own affiliations and would not favor anyone, only voting objectively.

But with things turning out this way, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed.

After all, this young man had committed too many lawless acts, and he couldn't let him get away with it.

Lin Wen still stood on the podium.

Lai Juncheng went down to the interrogator's seat, facing Lin Wen from a distance.

After a moment of silence, Lai Juncheng began the interrogation.

"Why did you publicly shoot innocent officials outside Chang Le Town when you first took office?" he asked.

Lin Wen replied, "They were plotting a rebellion."

"According to the current evidence, they were just opposing your tyranny."

"You set up a public trial platform outside Chang Le Town without any evidence, and publicly shot 80 imperial officials and detained more than 300 imperial officials and clerks in front of nearly 100,000 people."

"This is a photo taken at the scene, along with testimonies from some witnesses."

"They were all good cadres of the empire, excellent officials who protected the common people, with good character, pure style, and diligent work, always praised by all."

"And this man, just to establish his authority and eliminate dissidents, committed such a heinous crime, which is extremely evil."

Lai Juncheng's assistant presented the evidence, which included photos and testimonies, as well as testimonies from the prisoners and their relatives, as thick as a book.

Lin Wen had Qi Mu present all the files of the criminals compiled by Fang Yaobo, which were also handed over.

This was what Fang Yaobo had completed under the pressure of Qin Luoshuang before Lin Wen set off, nearly 400 in total, all about the crimes committed by various officials among the disaster victims.

It was obviously impossible to finish reading so much material in a short time, so the elders just randomly picked a few and displayed them on the big screen.

Lai Juncheng sternly said, "Even if they really violated the rules! They should be sentenced after trial! How can they be shot or taken away on the spot in public! Where is the face of the empire in such contempt for the laws of the empire, where is the dignity of the empire"

Lin Wen coldly said, "They rebelled on the spot, intending to assassinate the sheriff! To murder three hundred thousand disaster victims! This is more than rebellion, it's simply a crime against humanity. Why not kill them on the spot, what's the point of keeping them?"

Lai Juncheng was furious, "You should have a limit to your nonsense, they clearly only embezzled some supplies!"

Lin Wen cursed, "You're talking nonsense, who allowed you to slander them? They were all good officials, all good officials who protected the common people, you said it yourself!"

Lai Juncheng was choked, his mind was confused, he didn't understand why Lin Wen said this.

Lin Wen continued, "Because they are so excellent, their character is so good, they never embezzle supplies, they work hard, they are always praised, so why......"

Everyone present was attracted by Lin Wen's strange words, they couldn't help but want to hear what he would say next, even the four elders put down their files.

Lin Wen shouted, "Why, when it comes to disaster relief, they suddenly become incompetent, deceive their superiors and subordinates, embezzle everywhere, oppress the people"

"Why?"

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

Lin Wen shouted, startling everyone.

"Obviously, it's because they have bigger plans! They want to incite civil unrest! Provoke a rebellion! Disrupt the relationship between the county citizens, incite the disaster victims to attack the county government, assassinate the sheriff! And then cause the aid to be interrupted, the reconstruction to fail, the supplies cannot be transported, what do they want to do? They want to kill three hundred thousand disaster victims!"

"So, I ask you, is it enough to commit a crime against humanity to assassinate a county official and murder three hundred thousand people? Can they be shot on the spot?"

The officials below looked at each other, some of the lower-ranking ones even couldn't help but answer, "Yes......"

Lin Wen continued, "Clearly! They are the legendary rebels! I ask you, apart from the rebels, which official is so virtuous, does not embezzle, does not take bribes, works seriously, protects the people, it's a fairy tale, right? Only the rebels, they have ideals, in order to overthrow......"

"Cough!"

Elder Cheng stopped Lin Wen's words.

"That's enough, next question, Lai Juncheng."

All the officials' faces didn't look too good.

Zhao Chaoyang, the governor of Yunzhou, teased, "Sheng Huaixuan, your boy really has no filter."

Sheng Huaixuan shook his head with a bitter smile, "This kid, he really has a big heart."Lai Juncheng's face didn't look too good either, but the council members on the council seats looked even worse.

When they got the dirt on Lin Wen, they thought it was going to be an easy fight. They didn't expect that the young man would be such a tough nut to crack, a super hard bone that could break their teeth if they weren't careful.

Lai Juncheng regrouped and said, "You murdered the head of the Seventh Construction Corps and forcibly detained all members of the Seventh Construction Corps!"

Lin Wen replied, "He was a current enemy of humanity, the others volunteered."

Lai Juncheng's face turned beet red, but he knew it was pointless to argue here. Each of the following revelations was bigger than this one.

He immediately raised the next question, "You forced the imperial soldiers to do hard labor! This is an insult to the imperial soul and a violation of the imperial law!"

Lin Wen replied, "They were just doing their duty."

Lai Juncheng sneered, "Have you lost your mind?"

Lin Wen asked, "What is the duty of the imperial soldiers?"

Lai Juncheng coldly replied, "Of course, it's to defend the country and protect the personal safety and property interests of the imperial citizens from infringement. It has nothing to do with hard labor."

Lin Wen sneered, "Aren't the disaster victims imperial citizens? The flood has infringed on their interests and threatened their safety. Why can't the imperial soldiers lend a hand?"

Lai Juncheng was furious, "You're just twisting the facts!"

Lin Wen calmly said, "Whether I'm twisting the facts or not is not for you to decide."

Lai Juncheng's face was almost twisted with rage, and a shocking hatred burst from his eyes, as if he wanted to skewer Lin Wen through.