Chapter 343: The Case of Dugu Qiuhun

Although the members of the Law Club were jubilant, Ma Jia had a thorny issue to deal with. As the head of the judicial department, he had to face a difficult problem right after taking office: how to resolve the cases of Chang Shide and Dugu Qiuhun.

On the eve of the closing of the meeting, someone proposed to hold a public trial, to bring Chang Shide and Dugu Qiuhun to the Senate for a public struggle session. This proposal was too violent, and everyone was a little tired after several days of meetings. In addition, the dispatched stations had been actively lobbying before the meeting, so it was quickly rejected. However, the general assembly passed a motion to hold a hearing by the Court of Honor after the meeting to question their actions. The hearing would be conducted under the supervision of the Senate Standing Committee.

And this matter fell under Ma Jia’s leadership—since it was a court, it was more appropriate for the judicial system to handle it.

Ma Jia returned to his Maritime Court office in the customs building—he had not yet moved into the Executive Committee compound. He summoned all his key members for a small meeting to summarize the activities of the Law Club in the previous stage. The Law Club was the biggest winner at the second general assembly. Not only did its leader, Ma Jia, successfully squeeze into the highest ruling circle, but it also established the model of “ruling the country by law,” securing the future prospects of all the members of the Law Club. Although it was not convenient for everyone to cheer in the office, everyone had a happy expression on their faces. An Xi was particularly proud—he felt that he had contributed the most to the comprehensive turnaround of the Law Club this time.

At the meeting, everyone summarized the problems existing in the club and the entire Transmigration Group, and at the same time decided on the club’s activity policy for the next stage. People who studied law were stronger than ordinary people in logical thinking and expression. There was no nonsense in the entire meeting, and the topics were quickly discussed.

The policy was decided: the Law Club would continue to unswervingly hold high the banner of “pure academics,” insist on “public opinion first,” and adhere to the principle of “acting according to law.” Everyone also decided to take the opportunity of the passage of the “Law on Associations” at this general assembly to strengthen the organizational construction of the Law Club and enhance cohesion.

The final topic of the meeting was “dividing the candy”—the division of positions in the judicial system. As the representative of the Arbitration Tribunal and the supreme leader of the judicial circle of the Transmigration Group, Ma Jia had the final say on the structure and personnel arrangements of the judicial system, and the entire Law Club had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

Ma Jia was very cautious about this matter. He only promised at the meeting that everyone could get a piece of the pie in this system. But before “dividing the candy,” he asked everyone to first make a planning scheme for the judicial system, which was basically a blank slate, including what legal system to adopt, the method of trial, how to structure it, and so on—the house had to be built before deciding who would live in it.

“Everyone go back and discuss it for a day or two, and bring out the plan for discussion before Thursday,” Ma Jia said. “This way, I can submit the plan to the Executive Committee next Monday, and then report it to the Senate for approval. The final step is personnel arrangements. Everyone, please put some effort into it!”

“Alright!” everyone agreed with excitement, preparing to disperse. Some were already arranging to go to the farm café to talk over drinks. Ma Jia stopped Ji Xin and took him aside.

“I’m entrusting you with the cases of Chang Shide and Dugu Qiuhun.”

Ji Xin hesitated for a moment. “What is the attitude of the higher-ups on this matter?”

“The attitude is very ambiguous. The general meaning of the leaders is not to make a big deal out of it,” Ma Jia said. “But the ordinary elders and some of the committee members probably don’t see it that way.”

“I understand,” Ji Xin nodded. “Leave this matter to me.”

“I’m counting on you.” The reason Ma Jia chose Ji Xin was, first, because he had good personal relationships and was easy to communicate with; second, he was older, more mature and prudent in his work, and considered problems comprehensively, making it easier for him to maintain control in such a chaotic situation; finally, he was upright and would not have too many of his own little schemes, avoiding artificial trouble. Whether it was the case of Dugu Qiuhun or Chang Shide, there were many people who wanted to gain benefits from it.

Ma Jia handed two dossiers to Ji Xin. Chang Shide’s was thin, while Dugu Qiuhun’s was thicker. Ji Xin knew from the thickness of the materials which matter was more difficult to handle.

“Chang Shide is now in the General Office’s No. 1 Guesthouse, and Dugu Qiuhun is in the Army Club,” Ma Jia said. “You can talk to them at any time. As long as they are not sleeping, they will definitely see you.” He hinted that these two people were already under house arrest. Then he was given a room in the customs building to handle this matter. Ji Xin went back to his dormitory and brought his sleeping bag and personal belongings to the office.

Ji Xin knew very well that Chang Shide’s matter could be big or small. It was not difficult to exonerate him. The most important thing was the opinion of the leaders and cadres. The attitude towards Chang Shide was to “protect” him. After the general assembly, the resentment of the masses had subsided a lot. Adopting some technical means to let Chang Shide pass smoothly would not cause much controversy.

The difficulty lay with Dugu Qiuhun. Dugu Qiuhun had mobilized the police force to “suppress the riot.” The matter itself was not big, and Ji Xin did not believe what some people said: that Dugu Qiuhun had a so-called “coup” attempt. On the contrary, he believed that Dugu Qiuhun’s loyalty to the Transmigration Group was unquestionable—it was just that the way he expressed this loyalty touched upon the greatest fear in the hearts of the transmigrators: someone using the native forces under their command within the system to threaten other transmigrators.

The transmigrators wanted to establish their own empire, and the natives were a force that must be utilized: they would constitute the main body of the army and the administrative system.

Originally, everyone was worried about how to control the loyalty of the native elites. Now, suddenly, the possibility of someone directly using the natives to deal with comrades for the sake of power emerged—fortunately, this time the police force was sent back before they understood what was going on. Otherwise, the psychological impact on the natives would probably be huge. If the transmigrators, who had been regarded as gods by the natives so far, were to flee in all directions under the batons of the native police, the prestige of the Transmigration Group would probably be swept away.

From this point of view, Dugu Qiuhun’s behavior was indeed “extremely vile in nature,” and it was not an exaggeration to demand severe punishment.

It was not difficult to severely punish Dugu Qiuhun—no one thought he did well or right. The lightest view was that he lacked a brain. It was easy to say that he should be dismissed from his post, investigated, and permanently barred from holding public office, and no one would complain for him. But Ji Xin knew that the water behind this matter was very deep.

The “Dugu Qiuhun incident” was not an isolated event, but a part of the entire “Maid Revolution.” Ji Xin did not participate in the demonstration that night—he hated such things. But many signs indicated that the Law Club was not clean in this matter. Ma Jia and Shan Liang’s joint launch of the demonstration seemed to be an accidental event, but perhaps it was an inevitable event?—Shan Liang was just the trigger.

Besides the Law Club, how many other people were active behind this revolution? He supported his head with his hands and thought, seeming to see floating faces. Connecting this to the performance of the Executive Committee members during the “Maid Revolution,” Ji Xin understood a little.

Ji Xin opened the waxed-sealed dossier and studied the materials inside several times. The dossier contained interrogation materials from the Political Security General Bureau: including interrogations of every native policeman present at the time, the interrogation of the security company commander Li Yiyang, reports submitted by Bei Wei and Xue Ziliang, records of several conversations between Ran Yao and Dugu Qiuhun, and finally, a handwritten order from Dugu Qiuhun, ordering Li Yiyang to assemble the security company and prepare to move out.

Among them, the confessions of the native policemen made Ji Xin take a cold breath: many policemen mentioned that Dugu Qiuhun had ordered the police to open the armory and take Minie rifles into the city.

No matter what the intention of carrying guns was, just the act of ordering the natives to carry guns into the city without permission was enough to put Dugu Qiuhun to death. Ji Xin thought that it would not be difficult to pin the hat of “attempted coup” on Dugu Qiuhun now.

Dugu Qiuhun’s political future was finished. There was no doubt about that. Ji Xin thought, the problem was what Ma Jia had said, “the general meaning is not to make a big deal out of it,” “but the ordinary elders and some of the committee members probably don’t see it that way.”

In summary, there was an undercurrent both in the government and among the public that wanted to make an issue of Dugu Qiuhun’s intention to enter Bairen City, while the majority of the leadership hoped that the matter would be over.

He decided to talk to Dugu Qiuhun first.

The day after Dugu Qiuhun’s police force was intercepted by Bei Wei and Xue Ziliang and returned to the police station, Ran Yao came to the police station with Mu Min and a few other people. After a five-minute conversation behind closed doors, a pale-faced Dugu Qiuhun was taken away. His pistol was confiscated. It was then announced that Mu Min would be temporarily in charge of the East Gate Market police station. A new batch of police cadets was transferred from the military and political school. All the original police officers in the East Gate Market police station were taken away and sent to the study class camp of the Political Security General Bureau—the people from the Political Security General Bureau would talk to them one by one to find out what had happened that night and what Dugu Qiuhun had said to the native police.

Li Yiyang was also taken away that day. He was taken from the security company headquarters by the Political Security General Bureau for 12 hours of questioning and was later released.

Dugu Qiuhun was in a room in the Army Club. He looked to be in good spirits. He had been under house arrest since he was brought to the Army Club. He was not able to attend the general assembly, but the meeting minutes were sent to his room every day, and he also voted—his political rights had not yet been stripped.

Seeing Ji Xin visit him, Dugu Qiuhun still had a nonchalant look on his face:

“Are you a defense lawyer?” He waved his hand. “I’m not guilty. I don’t need anyone to defend me!”

Ji Xin smiled faintly. “I’m not a lawyer, I’m a judge.”

Dugu Qiuhun looked at him with some confusion. Ji Xin briefly introduced himself and informed him of the resolution passed by the general assembly.