Returning to the Poet's Shrine,
Zhu Mo had Liu Yingjie take the lead in gathering a large number of legal aides to organize the first batch of reviewed Wokou (Japanese pirates) case files. The two also discussed where it would be most suitable to establish the Zhoushan Public Office.
Liu Yingjie, living up to his reputation as a prodigy, said while looking at the case files as if by chance, "Zi Xuan, I think it would be best to set up your public office in Huating. Firstly, it's a silk trading hub with many foreign merchants. Secondly, this public office will likely not fall under my jurisdiction as the Jiangnan Surveillance Commissioner in the future, so there's no need to place it in Hangzhou..."
Oh?
That made sense.
Zhu Mo took a sip of tea, thinking: The Zhoushan Public Office is essentially the world's first international tribunal. Its future affiliation is uncertain? Placing it under the Dali Temple seems inappropriate... After all, the Dali Temple is merely the Great Ming's judicial institution...
However, after thinking for a while,
He felt that some matters didn't need to be considered so complex. The success or failure of the Zhoushan Public Office depended on its fairness and its ability to win people's hearts; everything else was secondary. For example, even if a treaty consortium was established, it would still be the Great Ming that had the final say. Since the Great Ming had the final say, why bother with mere appearances? As long as the tribunal's judgments were just, merchants and citizens of all countries would naturally support it, and nothing else would need to be managed.
However,
Setting it up in Huating was indeed the best choice.
"Old Liu, you've always been a man of few words, yet you often hit the nail on the head. You're a rare talent... Why don't you temporarily take on the role of Da Sikou (Minister of Justice)?"
He thought about the many matters to come. The Wokou case was just the beginning; there would be many other types of foreign-related cases. He made a tentative suggestion.
Liu Yingjie smiled slightly:
"Well, I see you're short of staff for now... However, I believe one Da Sikou might not be enough. We should also select a few people to jointly preside, such as representatives from the Ministry of Punishments, the Dali Temple, the Censorate, and even the Ministry of Rites' Department of Guest Officials. What do you think?"
Good!
That's excellent.
Zhu Mo thought of Xu Shi, the Vice Minister of Punishments, and said with a smile,
"Old Liu, why don't you have Xu Shi select a few people from these ministries – a total of five people, with you as the head... Yes, you'll be the Da Sikou, and the other four will be Xiao Sikou (Assistant Ministers of Justice). Once we're on track, we can also accept a few outsiders to serve as Shaoqing (Junior Secretaries) to help understand the customs and traditions of various countries."
Good!
Liu Yingjie readily agreed. Being a man of deep thought and wisdom, he knew that Zhu Mo's intention in handling this Wokou case was to counter the Yan Party's and the twelve nations' diplomatic offensive. Using the Zhoushan Public Office to administer justice was a brilliant strategy, but its impact seemed too small? It might not achieve the desired goal. He immediately asked:
"Scholar Zhu, even if we clarify the Wokou case and administer justice, the world won't understand the reasoning behind it anytime soon, will they?"
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo was certainly more aware of this than Liu Yingjie.
This matter had already become an incident with novel appeal. It was just that the Great Ming's consultation system was not well-developed, and information dissemination was slow. Otherwise, it would have already caused a sensation. However, he, Zhu Mo, still had a way.
He smiled casually and said:
"Old Liu, you go through the case files first, making sure there are no errors! Then, I plan to hold a public trial with ten thousand people!"
A public trial with ten thousand people?
Liu Yingjie was stunned and stammered:
"You mean, let the common people come to watch the trial...?"
Yes,
Zhu Mo said solemnly:
"Precisely! Not only should they come to watch the trial, but we should also compile the cases into pamphlets and make them into official gazettes, distributing them everywhere... Yes, the pamphlets will be titled 'Zhoushan Public Office Public Trial of Wokou: A Warning Record of War Crimes.' You should condense the case files, keeping the text brief, and have artists draw the evidence and portraits. We'll print them all together – drawings of those red-haired devils, rōnin, matchlock guns, knives inscribed with Wokou names... everything will be clearly depicted with the indictment, so anyone can understand it clearly."
Liu Yingjie listened, dumbfounded—
What kind of operation is this?
Is there such a thing?
But after thinking for a moment, he realized this was indeed the only way to create a public outcry. As long as the common people made a slight connection, they would understand that the Yan Party was behind all the evil, and they wouldn't be fooled.
He was just a little puzzled—
How could this young man be so ruthless?
While this tactic might not seem like much at first glance, once it gained momentum, it would immediately suppress the tide stirred up by the Yan family. After all, the gentry and officials were a minority, and the common people outnumbered them dozens of times. This explained why Gao Gong and Yan Song had repeatedly suffered setbacks...
...
Three days later,
The Zhoushan Public Office was grandly unveiled at the Huating Silk Trading Post. Liu Yingjie initially served as the acting Da Sikou, appointed a Jian Shi (Investigator) as the presiding official, and assigned twelve scribes. The other four Sikou would be appointed after Xu Shi's recommendations and approval from the Grand Secretariat. The framework of the international tribunal was thus established, with the official plaque bearing the inscription of the Great Ming—
The Great Ming Zhoushan Public Office
Zhu Mo transferred a hundred-man detachment from the Firearm Camp to serve as honor guards and brought ten cannons. At the beginning of the hour of the snake (9 AM to 11 AM), thirty blank shots were fired consecutively.
Amidst the deafening roars of the cannons,
Thousands of merchants and local residents witnessed this moment.
They might not have realized that this Zhoushan Public Office would become a hub for international legal output throughout the Asia-Pacific region and even the world. Moreover, this would be the Great Ming's international law. From here, the trajectory of civilization would begin to diverge. Because of Zhu Mo's presence and his theory of self-reform, starting from the current generation, future generations would be spared slavery, and Chinese civilization would be reborn.
And all of this was based on the foundation of artillery, making it incredibly stable!
...
The following day at noon,
North of Hangzhou, at Yunshan Academy,
A vast open space at the foot of the mountain, next to the Grand Canal, spanning at least a thousand mu, was now filled with a dense crowd, numbering twenty to thirty thousand people.
In the center of the open space, a wooden platform had been erected. A large banner read:
Ten Thousand People Public Trial for Wokou War Crimes.
To prevent stampedes, Zhu Mo had dispatched over a thousand musketeers. In teams of ten, they divided the crowd into many sections and established human walls in the most crowded areas. The soldiers were armed and ready, and numerous yamen runners moved in and out. Although the crowd was noisy, they remained orderly.
Bang bang bang!
Three loud blank cannon shots.
The scene immediately fell silent. A gentle breeze swept through the air, and everyone felt a peculiar sense of awe: Today's event was likely an unprecedented undertaking.
Liu Yingjie, a former military officer, now bellowed with a clear and resonant voice, proclaiming:
"Listen, people and soldiers of Jiangnan! Today, we will hold a public trial with ten thousand people for four hundred Wokou! These Wokou consist of eighty of our dynasty's subjects, forty Koreans, one hundred and eighty Japanese, sixty from the Franks, and forty from the Ryukyus...
Among them, two hundred have killed innocent civilians within the Great Ming. These two hundred individuals have had their cases reviewed, and after today's public trial, they will be executed immediately! The remaining two hundred, who did not kill civilians but set fire to houses and plundered property, will also be punished according to the law. One hundred and twenty will be exiled to the Nine Borders, and eighty will be sent to frontier garrisons for reclamation and cultivation along the coast..."