As the identity of the deceased was unknown and the murderer was nowhere to be found, Shen Baozhen, governor of Liangjiang, ordered Hong Rukui to be responsible for solving the case. Hong Rukui was ordered to arrange for his men and arrest Commissioner Hu Jinchuan to investigate and interview the murderer. A few days later, Hu Jinchuan arrested manager Shao, fireman Zhang and butcher Qu Xueru in Miaoershan, saying that they were the murderers of the Sanpailou murder case. Hu Jinchuan also brought a melon seed vendor named Xiao Geng, saying that he was a witness. On the ninth night, he saw the dead man lying in the snow in the Sanpai Building, with three people standing beside him, namely Shao Zong, Zhang and Qu Xueru. One of them also warned Xiao Geng not to mind his own business.
Hong Rukui immediately appointed alternate magistrates Yan Kun and Hu Jinchuan to interrogate the suspect under the same roof. After extorting a confession by torture, General Manager Shao, Zhang and Qu Xueru confessed that they conspired to kill foreigners selling pigs because of poverty and wealth, and the dagger was Zhang's murder weapon.
It seems that this murder case has come to the bottom, and the truth has come out. Hu Jinchuan, the arresting Commissioner, solved the case with great speed. According to the procedure, the case was finally reported to Shen Baozhen, the governor of Liangjiang, and Shen Baozhen gave instructions: Shao Zong and Qu Xueru, the "murderers", should be executed on the spot and beheaded. Because Zhang Xian confessed, he was saved from death, and his right ear was tattooed and returned to his original place.
It was in the middle of February in Guangxu four years, and it took more than two months from discovery to closing. It only takes a few days from the confession of the suspect to the punishment.
In the hustle and bustle of Nanjing, the murder case of Sanpailou once caused discussion in the streets and lanes, and was published in the page of Shenbao. But after the case was closed, it gradually faded away.
Until a few years later, in July of the seventh year of Guangxu, Jinling Bureau caught a thief named Li Dafeng. Li Dafeng reduced his sentence for meritorious service and confessed the plot that his cousin Zhu Biao was murdered by Friday and Shen a few years ago. The government immediately arrested Zhou and Shen for questioning, and the results they gave surprised the case-handling officials: last Friday, the time, place and plot of Shen Baohong's murder were highly similar to the murder of Sanpailou in Guangxu three years.
Is the so-called "Xue Chunfang" killed four years ago the same person as the victim Zhu Biao in this case? In other words, manager Shao and Qu Xue, who were brought to justice four years ago, died unjustly?
At this time, Qu Xueru's family also reconciled more than 50 people and went to the Liangjiang Governor's Office to petition, claiming that Qu Xueru died unjustly. At this time, the Governor of Liangjiang has been replaced by Liu Kunyi, and officials such as Liang, Yan Xun Moral Guard and Jiangning Magistrate Zhao have been appointed to hear the case. After arraignment, witness summons and isolation, the truth finally came out four years ago: it turned out that Zhu Biao and Shen met on Friday because Zhu Biao seduced Liu, a woman who came here on Friday, and committed adultery with Zhao Gao, his wife who was abducted by Shen. At the beginning of December of Guangxu three years, Zhou and Shen were angry. Xue Chunfang, the deceased found the next day, was actually Zhu Biao.
Four years ago, Hu Jinchuan, the arresting Commissioner who was ordered to visit the murderer, was eager to solve the case and had no clue, so he instructed Xiao Geng, a melon seed vendor, to testify against General Manager Shao, Zhang and Qu Xueru as murderers. The three men couldn't bear the severe punishment of the government, so they had to plead guilty, fabricate the plot of the murder and talk nonsense about the name "Xue Chunfang".
Three innocent just men were inexplicably identified as murderers, but there was no way to clear their grievances. How ridiculous such a judicial mechanism is! After careful investigation, we will find that there are fatal defects in the judicial system of the Great Qing Dynasty: First, the arrest Committee members can actually participate in judicial trials, which is a typical "being both an athlete and a referee". The design of this system in Qing Dynasty was far less reasonable than that in Song Dynasty. In Song Dynasty, arresting officers were not allowed to participate in investigation. Their duty is only to catch the suspect. As for whether the suspects are really guilty, they are not allowed to intervene.
Secondly, although the judicial system of the Qing Dynasty set up a complicated review procedure, a murder case was first reviewed by the county government, then by the magistrate, the investigation department, the governor, and finally by the central criminal department, but in fact the review procedure was often just a formality. For example, the Sanpailou murder case actually only passed the two-level trial of Yan Kun and Hu Jinchuan, and other institutions in charge of examination only signed the final report. The case was reported to the Governor of Liangjiang, but Shen Baozhen did not try it and ordered the criminals to be executed on the spot.
Thirdly, even if the review procedures are completed layer by layer, people's grievances may not be discovered in time, because there are no full-time judicial organs and professional judicial personnel in the Qing Dynasty. In the examination of criminal cases, the Governor usually appoints administrative officials to be in charge of the trial, and even military organizations such as the battalion office also participate in the trial. These non-professional "judges" lack judicial training, and it is inevitable that "the gourd baby will break the gourd case." This is not as good as that of the Song Dynasty. At the state level in Song Dynasty, there were generally three courts: local courts, state courts and administrative courts; In some big States, state courts and secretaries have left courts and right courts, that is, five courts; Each court is equipped with a number of professional judges, namely clerks, clerks, managers and judicial personnel.
Finally, in the Qing Dynasty, the execution of prisoners sentenced to death required the approval of the Ministry of Punishment according to normal procedures. However, in the process of suppressing Taiping rebels in the late Qing Dynasty, local governors gained the power of "enforcing the law on the spot" and could bypass the punishments and take the initiative. The law of "punishing on the spot" is conducive to local organizations to "strike hard" and maintain order, but it also opens the door for indiscriminate killings. Although we shouldn't expect too much from the review procedure of punishment, General Manager Shao and Qu Xueru in the murder case of Sanpailou obviously died in the system of "enforcing the law on the spot". At that time, "Shen Bao" commented: "If it is handed over to the local officials, the questions will be answered and then implemented. There are only a few days before the inquiry date. "
Fortunately, the judicial system of the Qing dynasty did not completely annihilate the conscience of officials. After Shen confessed the truth of the murder last Friday, the local authorities in Jiangsu did not cover up the truth and abandon the grievances of the deceased. Liu Kunyi, Governor of Liangjiang River, immediately demanded that Hu Jinchuan be temporarily dismissed and brought to justice for interrogation, and sent a letter to Hong Rukui, who had been promoted to Huaibei to transport salt, asking him to come to Jiangning to assist in the investigation. Because Liu Kunyi thought that Hong Rukui was deceived by Hu Jinchuan and didn't deliberately create unjust imprisonment, Beijing suggested impeaching Liu Kunyi that "the death of Qu Xueru and Shaozong monks in this case was formed by Hong Rukui's exercise of his functions and powers. The governor's words and deeds show that he wants to punish Hu Jinchuan, and his intention is partial. " We know that the remonstrance system in Qing Dynasty was the weakest in all previous dynasties, but the establishment of remonstrance history, after all, constituted certain checks and balances on the power of administrative officials, and also made the administration and justice of Qing Dynasty have some weak self-correcting functions.
Under the pressure of public opinion in the ruling and opposition parties, on the eighth day of December in Guangxu's seventh year, the Qing court ordered Xue, the minister of punishments, to go to Jiangning to thoroughly investigate the murder case of Sanpailou. Xue is a professional judicial officer. After he arrived in Jiangning, in order to ensure his independence, he declined the reception of local officials, investigated the case behind closed doors, read the case files, arraigned criminals and witnesses, and cleared the suspects one by one. Finally, it is confirmed that the murder of Sanpailou was indeed committed by Friday and Shen, and the irrefutable evidence is like a mountain. Xue immediately returned to Beijing to report to me.
On February 29th of the following year, Jiangning imperial edict sentenced Friday and Hu Jinchuan to make a decision, and sentenced Shen to make a decision. Hong Rukui and Yan Kun were dismissed and exiled; Shen Baozhen is excused from his crime because he has passed away; Other responsible officials were also handed over to the Ministry.
The murder of Sanpailou is really over now. But I don't know if manager Shao and Qu Xueru who died unjustly can be seen in newspapers.