Chapter 1868 - Out with the Old, In with the New (Part 4)

On his way back to the Justice Bureau, Shen Ruiming continued pondering the task Liu Xiang had given him. Of course, from the perspective of his old-timeline law professors, this was a classic case of "crudely interfering with judicial independence" and "administrative intervention." But he didn't see anything wrong with it. Ultimately, law serves the ruling class. Law is first and foremost a tool of the rulers, not their shackles.

As for his proposal to adopt the Ma Xiwu trial method—that wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea either. From the confidential reports Liang Xinhu had sent to the judicial department, he had already learned quite a bit about local judicial practice in Guangzhou. Overall, the simplified trial system the judicial department had implemented in Hainan still proved too cumbersome for Guangzhou—especially at this juncture when both sides were locked in struggle and major cases kept arising. Law had to be combined with reality to achieve maximum effect. Considering only legal issues while ignoring political and social realities would mean sinking into the quagmire of legal fundamentalism.

The streets everywhere were dug up—clearing ditches, dredging silt, paving roads. Shen Ruiming's sedan stopped and started constantly, sometimes having to detour. By the time he returned to the Great Buddha Temple, his new "home" had been set up. His two maids were busy in the bedroom arranging things. His office had already been cleaned and furnished.

The chairs and furniture were naturally from confiscated goods, but the room was arranged quite comfortably and practically—the General Office had developed a complete set of methods for renovating and decorating traditional buildings through long experience. The Municipal Government's General Affairs Section had followed the same pattern to remodel this place. Both lighting and practicality had improved considerably.

Shen Ruiming was quite satisfied. He was about to sit down and look through the case files that had just been delivered: Liang Xinhu had already sent over the relevant dossiers for the sorcery case and cases related to the Guandi Temple faction—honestly, the volume was quite substantial.

"Master... someone... named Zhang... wants to see you."

The Persian maid could now speak some Chinese, though her pronunciation was poor. This slave girl from a noble family was quite clever; after more than two years in Lingao, she could largely read newspapers and letters.

Following the announcement came Liang Xinhu himself.

Liang Xinhu had come to Guangzhou with ambitions of becoming "President of the Guangdong Intermediate Court." Since arriving, he'd been spinning like a top, never properly stopping. On one hand, cases truly kept emerging endlessly; on the other, the shortage of personnel. Now, seeing Shen Ruiming was like seeing family.

Shen Ruiming noticed Liang Xinhu's exhausted expression and knew his burden was heavy. Not rushing to speak, he waited until Liang Xinhu lit a South Sea cigar before saying: "I'm sure you've seen the telegram from Lingao. Let's keep it short so you can rest."

Liang Xinhu waved his hand, indicating he was fine: "No problem, no problem. We're both just past thirty—there's a long revolutionary road ahead."

Liang Xinhu suddenly slapped his forehead: "Sorry, forgot you don't smoke." He moved to extinguish the cigar. Shen Ruiming stopped him: "It's fine. I'm not that particular here."

Seeing Liang Xinhu take a few puffs and recover somewhat, Shen Ruiming said: "A few things. First is the trials—we'll discuss that later. Second, the Organization Department has approved establishing five courts in Guangzhou, including a plan for training naturalized judicial civil servants. This should greatly lighten your burden."

Liang Xinhu exhaled a smoke ring: "Before I came to Guangzhou, Old Liu was pressing hard for court infrastructure. After I arrived, he pressed less urgently. But he has mentioned wanting more courts for Guangzhou's population of 600,000—at one court per 100,000 people, that's no light burden."

"Mayor Liu's calculations are ambitious, but this is late Ming Guangzhou, not 21st-century Guangzhou. We don't need that many courts—21st-century judges in China's central and western cities don't hear many cases in a year. This stagnant pond of a small peasant economy doesn't require such a large setup. In the past, Guangzhou's urban area had only two county yamens handling all the city's judicial cases, with one prefectural yamen also covering cases from subordinate counties. Setting up five courts at once is really too many—and we don't have enough people to fill them."

Liang Xinhu started, knowing there must be details within the judicial department. He asked: "So what's the specific plan? If the Organization Department has already approved and we change things now, won't there be procedural issues?"

"The Organization Department only approved establishing five courts; it didn't specify court levels or purposes. That freedom is still in the Ministry of Justice's hands." Shen Ruiming said. "After study, the Ministry has decided to first establish Nanhai and Panyu as two basic-level courts, then establish a Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate Court. This roughly corresponds to the old one-prefecture, two-county system, making it easier for ordinary people to accept."

"What about the other counties? I heard the Organization Department approved those too." Liang Xinhu pressed. Because cases had been accumulating in various counties recently; apart from major cases that were routinely sent to Guangzhou for trial, various minor and civil cases could only be handled the old way, with each county magistrate conducting hearings.

The result was that newly established county governments had reverted to the old path. County magistrates each set dates—either the first and fifteenth or certain days each week—to "accept complaints." Plaintiffs all crowded into county government offices. Though there was no kneeling or caning, the essence was no different from a Ming county magistrate hearing cases.

The county magistrates—whether Elements or naturalized citizens—actually knew little of the Executive Council's legal system. Relying solely on a few handbooks published by the Law Society, slightly complex cases became overwhelming—especially civil cases, which involved many entangled issues. Simply establishing the facts took considerable brainpower. For Elements, it was better—they had at least been exposed to modern law, watched legal programs, and understood basic legal concepts and spirit, so their hearings had some coherence. Naturalized county magistrates either made arbitrary pronouncements as if their word were law, or followed precedent by handing cases to retained clerks or legal secretaries. These chaotic situations had been reported and compiled by the Political Security Bureau. The clamor for "justice in the county seats" had suddenly grown loud—which was one reason the Organization and Cadre Departments had suddenly become so generous to the judicial department.

"One court per county is still beyond us." Shen Ruiming said. "I figure we'll have to wait until the first class of Guangzhou's judicial training program graduates before we can roughly satisfy a few key counties. The Law Society has considered this, so of the five court establishments, besides the three I mentioned, the next is the Guangzhou Special District Circuit Court—specifically to dispatch circuit courts rotating through the counties. This ensures trial quality while reducing pressure on local administrations."

"And the fifth court?"

"The fifth is the Maritime Court." Shen Ruiming said confidently. "That's also an important area."

Liang Xinhu nodded. This arrangement was indeed reasonable, covering all aspects. But he still had concerns:

"This setup is fine, but do we have enough Elements to handle it? Even if you serve as both prosecutor and judge, even if we're all multi-skilled and wearing multiple hats, there still aren't enough Elements. These institutions can't be empty—they'll have to be filled with naturalized judicial cadres. Honestly, the 60-day crash-course judges mentioned in the plan—no matter how I think about it, I can't accept that. In the old timeline, a mature judge needed at least 18 years of basic education plus 10 years of practical experience, not to mention that the legal situation here is at least ten times more complex than in the old timeline." Liang Xinhu voiced his concerns. "Criminal cases are manageable—for those that go to trial, Mu Min's side prepares the evidence and such. Except for some major cases requiring Element prosecutors, naturalized staff can generally read from the script. But civil cases are different. The natives who come to litigate in this timeline may understand the importance of evidence, but the evidence they present is either incomplete or completely irrelevant to the facts that need proving. Basically, we judges have to collect evidence ourselves. Take the rental dispute from a few days ago—I had my people investigate local commercial customs, and it took considerable persuasion just to get cooperation. Time-consuming and laborious, and we often still can't get the truth. Can these crash-course judges really handle this work?"

Shen Ruiming knew Liang Xinhu would have such questions. He explained: "Regarding civil trials, I think we need to change our working approach. In Lingao and all of Hainan, we have overwhelming advantages in all social aspects. Civil cases are few, and when they occur, our control of grassroots administration makes all work convenient. But in newly liberated areas like Guangzhou, the situation is very different. In my view, old-timeline methods don't suit the local conditions. Better to use the Ma Xiwu trial method used in base areas during the Anti-Japanese War."

Liang Xinhu was also a law graduate and naturally knew about this. He said: "That method is indeed good, but there are two problems. First, we can't yet say we've completely secured the entire Guangdong region. Safety for fieldwork can't be guaranteed—even in counties under Guangzhou Prefecture, remote areas are currently unsettled. Second, looking at the civil service examination application and admission rates, the highest proportion comes from the so-called citizen class—the urban petty bourgeoisie. Can they really blend in with the masses?"

"I've considered this too," Shen Ruiming said with some hesitation. After a moment he continued: "I obtained a few rural cadres trained at the Institute from Du Wen. These people have considerable experience going to the countryside. We'll prepare a few guidance handbooks, and common problems won't be difficult to solve. As for newly recruited trainees, they'll need to follow these cadres and learn on the job. Of course, I admit there will be people who can't properly position themselves, but we can't abandon eating for fear of choking. The training plan's overall direction is sound." He appeared quite confident. "Everything is difficult at the beginning. I'll devote full effort to this matter. Rest assured."

(End of Chapter)