Chapter 223 - Public Opinion Guidance

To build momentum for this trial, the Arbitration Tribunal was active on all fronts. First, they had the Propaganda Department publish a special news report on the case in the Lin’gao Times. Although Ding Ding was skeptical about how many people could understand it, Ma Jia’s guiding opinion was to “cook the rice half-raw.” At least the new immigrants had undergone basic literacy training and had no problem reading the newspaper. As for the local natives, many had also received literacy education in the factories.

The article was personally written by Ding Ding. The Propaganda Department had a few scholars, like former Ming Dynasty students, but the articles they wrote, even in vernacular Chinese, were unbearably stilted. Ding Ding rarely had them write articles, mainly assigning them to proofread.

Writing a legal popularization article was not a first for Ding Ding, but writing one for the people of the 17th century was a great challenge. They had neither eaten pork nor seen a pig run. He had to explain basic concepts in a way that was easy to understand. It took Ding Ding a lot of brainpower to write a few legal popularization articles.

According to Ma Jia’s request, the focus of the legal popularization articles was not on the Marriage Law, but on the Criminal Procedure Law, to popularize modern judicial trial procedures and legal concepts. Of course, a certain comparison with the judicial practice of the Ming Dynasty was also necessary. According to Ma Jia, the goal was to highlight the “barbarism,” “backwardness,” “cruelty,” and “incompetence” of the Ming Dynasty’s judicial system.

To highlight these four points, Ding Ding had to ask E Shui for help, asking him to find materials from historical records and notes about the dark side of Ming Dynasty justice to use as ammunition. He also made several trips to the county yamen and had several exchanges with Master Wang.

Since the county yamen had been completely sidelined, Master Wang was idle. Every day, besides helping the county office stamp documents and handle routine paperwork, he would drink, play chess, and write poetry with County Magistrate Wu. The county office provided them with excellent supplies and a monthly subsidy, enough for them to live a leisurely life. He was naturally happy to chat with someone who came to consult him.

Wang Zhaomin had been a master for decades. Although he might not have been outstanding in criminal law, he had a wealth of experience and had handled countless cases. Now, hearing that “dark secrets” were needed, he immediately picked a few complex and bizarre cases and recounted them one by one, also providing his own specific comments.

Regarding the reporting of the case itself, Ding Ding also followed the basic principles of later generations, using pseudonyms for the village, the unit, and the individuals involved. The Navy even specifically called to request that he not use any content in the article that could be associated with the Navy. Wei Aiwen requested that the subsequent brawl between the Navy and the Garrison Battalion not be mentioned in the report.

“MMD, who is the Propaganda Department anyway?” Although Ding Ding understood their thinking, he was very dissatisfied that every department wanted to dictate his reporting.

Finally, Du Wen suddenly called, requesting to discuss with Ding Ding whether this case would help to improve the status of women.

“I don’t think this has anything to do with the status of women…”

“How can you say it has nothing to do with it? This is a typical case of objectifying women. During the whole process, did anyone specifically talk to the female victim and listen to her heart?”

Ding Ding admitted that he had not, but the case handlers at the Arbitration Tribunal should have questioned her.

“You see, no one cares about the will and rights of women!” The voice on the phone became a little agitated. “Doesn’t she want a divorce?”

“You should ask the Arbitration Tribunal.”

“Of course I will ask, but there is a serious problem with the reporting tendency of the Lin’gao Times on this case…”

Ding Ding hung up the phone, frustrated. What was the problem with the reporting tendency? Pan Pan was making coffee on the side and asked, “Who was that?”

“Du Wen from the Women’s Federation.” Ding Ding couldn’t explain to Pan Pan what kind of organization Du Wen’s Social Work Office was, so he introduced her as the chairwoman of the Women’s Federation, which was easier for her to understand.

Du Wen had also approached Pan Pan several times, asking her to join the Women’s Federation. Pan Pan was not interested in joining a political organization. She had always believed that women’s rights should be protected by themselves, not by forming some kind of association to demand them. Their ideas didn’t align, so she had never agreed.

“Is this case related to women’s rights?” Pan Pan was also very interested in this case. Although she was dissatisfied that the Arbitration Tribunal had already reached an internal conclusion before the trial had even begun, overall, there was nothing special about the case. Of course, she couldn’t understand the opinion of some Elders who wanted to sentence them to death or life imprisonment. In her opinion, even for “undermining a military marriage,” a small punishment would be enough.

“It is, in a way,” Ding Ding said, looking at the table full of proofs and manuscripts. “For example, why can’t that woman choose the man she loves?” He quickly added, “That’s what Du Wen said.”

The woman’s gossip instinct immediately kicked in. “Does she love that young man?”

“Who knows,” Ding Ding said. “That has nothing to do with the case.”

“I’d really like to know,” Pan Pan said, her interest piqued. “I want to write a special report on the emotional problems of the naturalized citizens…”

“Absolutely not,” Ding Ding quickly stopped his wife’s whimsical idea. “The naturalized citizens don’t need to consider emotional problems. Eating and working is enough. Why do you want them to think so much?”

“How can you say that? They are people too. Why can’t they have an emotional life?” she said, determined to pursue this topic. Ding Ding thought about it. Since the Arbitration Tribunal was about to announce the Marriage Law, and divorce was a major part of it, it was not unreasonable to create some public opinion momentum with such a report. In the end, he agreed to Pan Pan’s request and gave her a press pass to enter the county yamen prison for an interview.

As a result, Pan Pan’s interview was a journey of high hopes and dashed spirits. She had expected to see a middle-aged woman with lingering charm, but what she saw was an old and haggard, small woman, with no charm to speak of.

Although she had brought a translator who could speak Minnan dialect, the party concerned was already frightened out of her wits by the sight of a blonde, blue-eyed “Chief” who looked like a ghost coming to talk to her, not to mention the emotional vocabulary that the translator was spouting. It took several minutes just to explain the phrase “Do you love so-and-so?”

What discouraged Pan Pan even more was that this old-looking woman couldn’t even say whether she loved the suspect or not. She was even unwilling to talk about whether she liked him. Pan Pan even felt that the other party showed a silent contempt for her for bringing up such matters. She either didn’t know the answer to a question, or she was unwilling to speak, making it difficult for Pan Pan to continue the interview.

Finally, Pan Pan had to say, “If you were given the chance, would you be willing to marry so-and-so and live with him?” She was very much hoping for a “love is supreme” answer, but the party concerned flatly refused. As for why, she was completely unwilling to say. No matter how Pan Pan asked, the other party just looked at her with a “none of your business” expression.

“These people, do they even have their own thoughts?” Pan Pan couldn’t help but pour out her experience to Ding Ding.

Ding Ding smiled calmly. “You can’t handle this? It’s good enough that a 17th-century commoner can have a question-and-answer exchange with you. Don’t forget, the party concerned is a saleswoman in East Gate Market—she’s had some exposure to modern civilization! If you really go down to the countryside and chat with the common people, you’d be lucky to get one answer out of ten sentences. And you still want to write a special report.”

In addition to the public opinion preparation in the newspapers, the Propaganda Department also used “public opinion guides” to create momentum in public places. The public opinion guides were a new trick from the Propaganda Department. They selected articulate and gossip-loving individuals from among the naturalized citizens—mainly merchants—to spread news and guide public opinion according to the weekly “notice” from the Propaganda Department. As a reward, each person received 50 circulation coupons per month from the Propaganda Department as a small incentive—Ding Ding refused to admit that this was a “reward.”

The goal was quickly achieved. The guides’ dissemination on the streets and alleys of various villages and towns quickly spread the case throughout the county—so much so that some Elders raised objections: would such sensationalism have a negative impact on the army’s image? Would it make people think that once they joined the army, their wives would be cuckolded?

But Ma Jia and others believed that only by widely publicizing this case could they make the naturalized citizens fear cuckolding a soldier. Several years of hard labor was no joke. The labor camp in Fu Youdi had become one of the terrifying legends of the new Lin’gao regime, a veritable hell on earth in the minds of the people.

As usual, Du Wen demanded that this case be used to promote “protecting women’s rights.” She demanded that the sailor and his wife be divorced at the same time—because their “relationship had broken down”—and that the sailor be held criminally responsible for the “domestic violence” of beating his wife. This demand was, of course, resolutely opposed by the Navy. It was also opposed by the majority of the Elders—except for Liu Yuefei, who had just returned from a field investigation. Even the female Elders were indifferent to the emotional happiness of a native woman. Seeing a lack of support among the Elders, Du Wen personally wrote several articles advocating for the protection of women’s rights and gave them to Ding Ding to be published in the Lin’gao Times - External Edition.

The case was thus pushed forward by the different intentions of various departments, with preparations in full swing for a major judicial drama.

Ma Jia enthusiastically ordered black robes for An Xi and the others who were to appear in court. He had specially gone to the warehouse of the Planning and Development Commission and selected a black silk fabric with excellent luster and texture. He also directly supervised the renovation of the summary court in East Gate Market, making it look new inside and out. New cork sound-absorbing panels were pasted on the walls to eliminate the noise from the public gallery. Iron bars were added to the windows—according to the latest news, many people were expected to attend the trial, and those who couldn’t get in would probably climb on the windows like people in another time and place.