Free Web NovelChapter 424: Chapter 311: Wait, You’re Still Coming!?
Abuse of power...
As these four words fell, everyone on the bench felt their hearts tighten in an instant.
Chief Judge Liu at this moment didn’t bother with the fact that these words weren’t actually written in the indictment; instead, he furrowed his brow and began to ponder.
These four words... are certainly not simple.
Light as a feather, yet heavy as a mountain!
And just like Xu Liang said earlier... these four words are quite heavy.
There is almost no difference from an organization wielding color, entirely akin to local weapons of war!!!
What’s more, Xu Liang’s words were still...
"Oh no, this is forming a logic closure..."
On the defense side, Li Yang’s expression changed, feeling increasingly troubled, cursing inwardly at the devilry.
Whenever a logical closure appears in court, the closed-loop evidence almost doesn’t need further examination.
Just now, he intended to cover it up as a lack of ability rather than an issue of attitude.
If it were an ordinary person.
They would most likely engage in a detailed debate targeting this point, arguing carefully from a detail-oriented perspective whether the responding officers had an attitude problem or a capability issue.
But the opposing party is different.
Xu Liang directly launched an attack on Zhengyang City with a severed hand!
What kind of attack could this be?
After all, they can’t find the person who chopped the hand, nor discern whether it truly was severed because of the Run Dong Weaving Plant.
Theoretically, this could entirely be set up as a separate case!
But!
But the court isn’t foolish!
Nor are the people, the court is controlled by people, as long as it’s people, they can associate, connect thoughts, and form logical links.
’Causality is extremely important in court!’
Li Yang’s face turned dark as his mind raced for a way to counter this move.
Meanwhile.
"Plaintiff, do you have evidence?" Chief Judge Liu quickly asked.
This matter shouldn’t let the tribunal indulge in debate, it must swiftly guide thoughts correctly!
"Your Honor, the offender left no clear traces; we are unable to provide clear information to the court for the time being."
Xu Liang shook his head.
Then, after a pause, he added.
"In summary."
"We conclude that Zhengyang Mining Company has collusion with Zhengyang City’s Wu Guotao; our client most likely had his left hand chopped due to Wu Guotao!"
"Moreover, repeated actions indicate that Zhengyang City does not have an ability problem."
"It’s purely an issue of attitude!!!"
Capability and attitude, these are two completely different things.
If someone lacks capability, that’s fixable by either training more or hiring more capable officers.
But if the attitude is at fault... then the troubles that arise from it are numerous!
"This is tough."
Chief Judge Liu showed a perplexed expression, his furrowed brows forming a knot, rubbing his temples.
Zhao Yi, sitting beside him, was initially also tangled up in the complexity of the case.
But seeing Chief Judge Liu like this...
Although it was unethical, seeing this scene somewhat relieved Zhao Yi, as if he had taken a sigh of relief, feeling a bit fortunate.
Thank goodness, I’m not the judge!
The court has launched a surprise attack on Zhengyang City’s officials...
How is this even fair play? Normally, it should be resolved internally, yet Xu Liang just went ahead and turned the table!
The attention on this case is extremely high, the officials can’t not investigate and will have to delve deeply into this point to give the public an answer, at which time this investigation won’t just be an investigation.
They’ll have to call it something different, like ’anti-corruption’....
"What to do? Can the hearing still continue?" Chief Judge Liu suddenly asked Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi snapped out of it, pondered for a moment, and replied:
"Better to proceed as per the indictment."
Indictment...
Oh right, the indictment!
Chief Judge Liu snapped back to reality.
He suddenly realized that what both parties said just now wasn’t reflected in the indictment.
"Plaintiff, regarding what’s stated in the indictment, do you have any statement to present?"
Indictment?
Hearing this, Li Yang from the defense let out a sigh of relief.
He wasn’t particularly worried about issues arising from the mining company, there were no noticeable flaws at the moment, he was only afraid of getting Wu Guotao involved, further exacerbating his disadvantage.
Even though it had already been pulled into the fray, at least there was still room...
Until the next sentence.
A shockingly bold statement unexpectedly echoed in everyone’s ears.
"Honorable Judge, we suspect Zhengyang City’s ’Rare Earth New Materials Company’ is colluding with Zhengyang Mining Company!"
"Zhengyang Mining Company used coercive tactics, including the murder of Zhang Shan, to seize the land of Run Dong Weaving Plant, and then proceeded to cooperate with the ’Rare Earth New Materials Company’!"
"We are suing the Zhengyang City Rare Earth New Materials Company for unfair competition, violating commercial law!!!"
Suing... suiting the Rare Earth New Materials Company!?
Isn’t that a state-owned enterprise?
Chief Judge Liu, Zhao Yi:?
The three judges on the bench were stunned.
Still suing!?
Wasn’t the declaration phase of the indictment already past? How can this be brought up now?
Even Zhu Haoyi was taken aback.
As the main perpetrator of the entire case, Zhu Haoyi knew better than anyone who’s actually involved.
If it’s about Wu Guotao and the court, he does have some connections.
But the Rare Earth New Materials Company, this state-owned enterprise....
The other party truly has no connection to the case at all!
They didn’t provoke anyone, basically did nothing, just being an honest civil engineering guy swinging a pickaxe to mine, truly unrelated to this matter...
Until...
"No way!"
Zhu Haoyi’s expression suddenly changed drastically.
He suddenly understood what Xu Liang was trying to do!
But Xu Liang’s voice continued.
"Your Honor, this is the underground mineral inspection report concerning Run Dong Weaving Plant, which I arranged on the 14th."
Xu Liang looked calm as he pulled out a document from his briefcase.
The document was clearly related to the rare earth mine.
"The reason Zhengyang Mining Company acquired Run Dong Weaving Plant is that the plant’s location is not a wasteland, but there is a rare earth mine beneath it!"
"My side has reason to suspect."
"It is Rare Earth New Materials Company and Zhengyang Mining Company that have targeted the mine, intending to forcibly acquire it through illegal means, thereby gaining huge profits!"
"And indeed, the reality is not far off from what I considered."
"As soon as my side left Zhengyang City, Zhengyang Mining Company signed a contract with the New Materials Company, forcibly demolishing the Run Dong Weaving Plant, preparing to start mining!"
At the moment these words fell, there was a slight pause among the crowd.
Soon followed by astonishment.
"There is a mine underground!?"
Chief Judge Liu’s eyes revealed a hint of amazement.
This was an issue not being tried by the local court.
The mining in Zhengyang City had started, yet the court was unaware of the outcome....
And if the weaving plant indeed has a mine underground...
"It all makes sense, everything is explained!"
"No wonder, I previously pondered why a mining company would bother to acquire a weaving plant, now it’s clear... it’s because there’s a mine underground!"
"I recall rare earth being quite expensive, this stuff is simply a goldmine!"
"It’s common for people to die in coal mining normally, and killing for an ownerless rare earth mine... putting aside conscience, it is indeed very profitable!"
"Are there any good people left in Zhengyang City!?"
"..."
The audience in the hearing area showed a look of realization, followed by shock and fear.
From Xu Liang’s words alone... Zhengyang City was now as corrupt as it could be, ordinary people had absolutely no chance to rise!
"Does the defendant wish to rebut?"
Chief Judge Liu’s breath was intense, urging the defendant to explain the above.
Zhu Haoyi’s face was gloomy.
Explain?
With half-truths, how should he explain?
Explain nothing!
Completely deny it? Impossible, the mining at Run Dong Weaving Plant has already started, not even needing investigation from above, just verification to confirm the mining company knew there was a mine underground before the contract was signed.
This is beyond dispute, as utilizing information discrepancy for trading is a legal business practice.
But...
If he admits this, how can he separate from the New Materials Company!?
Oh, can it be said, that though the actions in reality match exactly what Xu Liang described, the other party didn’t participate, only he did?
Even if that is the reality, who would believe it?
No one would believe it!!!
The logic has hit a dead end, whichever way he goes, he will hit a wall...
"Damn, this beast..."
Zhu Haoyi was anxious and increasingly angry, his eyes flashing shadows when looking at Xu Liang.
Li Yang took a deep breath, his face turning unpleasant:
"Your Honor."
"My side has never engaged in coercion, everything Zhang Shan did was normal business conduct."
"His suicide, Zhengyang City police inferred, was due to internal fragility, unable to withstand pressure leading to psychological collapse to escape reality!"
Saying this, Li Yang bravely handed over some documents.
His words were unrelated to what Xu Liang said.
Theoretically, it did not form an answer, but he dared not respond.
Xu Liang’s logic combined with reality, any response could fall into the opponent’s rhythm.
Instead, it’s better to detach from the question and directly state his own evidence!
"On the 12th, I agreed on a contract with Zhang Shan, with transfers and contract signing on the same day."
"However, according to our investigation, Run Dong Weaving Plant was not solely owned by Zhang Shan."
"It was jointly funded and established by a director and multiple deputy directors!"
"This means the profit from the plant sale should be reasonably distributed to their agent Liu Jinshui, but.... "
Li Yang’s mind was clear, although anxious, his words were quite logical.
"That afternoon, the other party’s wife disappeared, along with hundreds of thousands in transferred funds!"
"We speculate that Zhang Shan may have died due to his wife embezzling and absconding, leaving no money to distribute to the creators of the weaving plant, leading to his mental collapse and death!"
This explanation.
Fits the suicide, removes the mining company, and even shifts the blame internally to the weaving plant.
It’s a threefold victory!
Li Yang took deep breaths, only then realizing some cold sweat had unknowingly formed on his back.
He knew Xu Liang, even Zhu Haoyi knew him.
They didn’t underestimate him, otherwise, they wouldn’t have killed Zhang Shan immediately upon realizing he had found Xu Liang, cutting off Xu Liang from coming.
Yet, the follow-up case was taken, and he could only try to handle it himself.
Originally, he thought the case would be tough, but Li Yang never imagined...
The case would be this difficult!
A monster...
The opponent’s situational response capability was like a monster, no matter what he said, they could perfectly counter with different words!
If it were premeditated... that would be even scarier, meaning the opponent could anticipate his every uncertain situational response before the trial; this is simply beyond human capability!
