Chapter 317: Public Trial Meeting Calls for Zhou Ming

October 1st is National Day, a day of nationwide celebration. However, in Jinning City, Jingchu Province, the situation on this day was somewhat unusual. From the morning when people got up and went to work, queues began forming outside the Jinning Cinema. The crowd included factory workers, government officials, and students.

This situation was not surprising to everyone. In fact, many people joined the crowd outside the cinema, straining their necks to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside.

Today was not the premiere of a major film but rather the day when the counter-revolutionary group led by Gao Jianhui, Gao Ming, and Gao Feng was to be publicly tried.

A public trial, in this context, means holding a trial in a public setting in front of thousands of spectators.

At 9:30 AM, Zhou Ming and Du Peng arrived at the venue with the Jinning City Committee's car. The cinema was an old-fashioned open-air theater with a large stage directly opposite it, surrounded by high walls. When they got out of the car and saw the sea of people inside and outside the cinema, Du Peng was startled, saying, "Wow! So many people? There must be tens of thousands!"

Zhou Ming glanced and replied, "Yes, there are indeed tens of thousands. This only shows how much public support there is for taking down this criminal gang."

"That's right. Those scum really deserve to be sent to hell! To be boiled in oil and rolled down a mountain!" Lia Wenna said from behind Zhou Ming, looking at the empty stage as if Gao Ming and his group were already on it. She wished she could grind those bastards to dust.

Zhou Ming understood her feelings well because, in this matter, she was the most tragic. Not only had she been raped repeatedly by Gao Feng and his men, resulting in the loss of her child, but she had also been imprisoned in a room and subjected to constant abuse, eventually being forced into prostitution. Each of these events was horrific, and by the time Zhou Ming found her, she had been tortured to the point of mental breakdown, completely lifeless like a walking corpse.

Luo Wei stood by his wife's side, holding her hand, and said to Zhou Ming, "Those people deserve death, but we should be even more grateful to Boss Zhou. Without you, we would never have witnessed this scene."

"Yes, Boss Zhou, thank you very much. I didn't expect you to actually manage to have these scoundrels face a public trial," Lia Wenna said.

"You're too kind. People like Gao Ming and Gao Feng, and Gao Jianhui behind them, definitely deserve public judgment. How could the provincial and central leaders not support it?" Zhou Ming replied.

Zhou Ming didn't actually know what the provincial and central leaders thought, but he was certain that both Gao Jianhui and the Gao brothers were going to face public trial. This was not because of their severe crimes, but because Zhou Ming had mobilized the military and detained the Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary and his son.

Military conflicts are always sensitive issues. Politically, the people's army is meant to protect the people, and its guns should never be turned inward. Zhou Ming's actions, including deploying troops to Jinning and detaining the Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary, were significant military conflicts that could even attract central attention.

Zhou Ming created this military conflict to maximize the issue's exposure as quickly as possible. To avoid harming himself in the process, he labeled Gao Ming and Gao Feng's group as counter-revolutionaries to legitimize the military presence: the troops were not there to clash but to suppress the counter-revolutionary group!

Everything was interconnected. The military conflict put Jinning's criminal forces in the spotlight, forcing the provincial authorities to address it. Since they had to address it without escalating the military conflict, they had to follow Zhou Ming's plan and label Gao Jianhui's family as vicious counter-revolutionaries.

In recent judicial reforms, public trials had been abolished, but counter-revolutionaries were an exception.

For this reason, when Gao Jianhui and his group were handed over to the provincial authorities, Zhou Ming suggested a public trial, and both Jiang Wen and Xiong Qingping had to agree.

Seeing the provincial authorities' attitude, Jinning City Party Secretary Wang Changhao immediately understood, leading to today's grand public trial meeting.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Wang Changhao, along with the four city leadership teams and public security and judicial officials, sat in the front row. Zhou Ming, Du Peng, Luo Wei, and Lia Wenna sat beside them, as such occasions required a clear hierarchy!

Once all the city leaders were seated, Gao Jianhui, Gao Ming, Gao Feng, and other key members of Jinning's criminal group were brought up to the trial stage one by one. They were still wearing their clothes, but the clothes were as worn-out as they were. Each had a placard around their necks stating their names and crimes.

When these people appeared, the crowd erupted in astonishment: "Look! That's Gao Jianhui, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary of Jinning, and his two sons. I can't believe they're actually being tried today!"

Some people were thrilled: "This is great! Finally, these scoundrels who have been wreaking havoc in Jinning are getting the justice they deserve!"

Of course, there were also doubts: "But isn't our Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary backed by powerful figures? Even the provincial police had trouble dealing with them before. How did they suddenly end up here for a public trial?"

Someone answered, "Don't you know? A young man from Linyang came over. He's a young general honored on the Army Day! He saw how these black forces were oppressing Jinning and brought thousands of troops to take them all down."

Hearing the crowd's discussions, Du Peng laughed happily and said to Zhou Ming, "I didn't expect Boss Zhou to become General Zhou so quickly!"

Zhou Ming spat at Du Peng and said, "Nonsense, I'm no general!"

"I'd rather you were really a young general. With you here, we'd all feel reassured," Lia Wenna said.

This comment left Zhou Ming speechless, and he could only smile awkwardly as he continued to watch the trial.

The public trial was essentially a demonstration. Although the audience had been screened and organized, Gao Ming and Gao Feng's misdeeds had made them widely despised. 

At first, the audience was only surprised that they had been captured. But soon, someone shouted, "Gao Feng, you scum, I curse your whole family," and a shoe flew at Gao Feng's face.

This act was like lighting a match in a room full of gas, instantly igniting the pent-up emotions of the crowd.

"Gao Jianhui, you're a son of a bitch! You're the biggest gangster in Jinning! Gao Ming, you scum, with you around, no business can prosper in Jinning…"

The shouting and cursing from the crowd surged like a furious chorus, hitting Gao Jianhui and his group. People were passionate and emotional, and as others led the way, the crowd threw whatever they had at the trial stage. Someone even threw a brick that hit Gao Jianhui's head, causing a bloody wound.

In a legal society, even criminals have human rights, so the behavior of shouting insults and throwing shoes and bricks was not allowed. The organizers quickly began to intervene.

At this moment, Gao Feng, looking at Gao Jianhui's bloody face, either terrified by the sight or by the crowd's reaction, suddenly knelt down. While kowtowing, he wailed, "I'm sorry, Brother Zhou Ming. I was wrong. I didn't recognize the great man I was offending. Please don't hold it against me. I beg you, don't be so harsh!"

This scene stunned everyone. Even the public trial audience, who had been shouting and cursing, were momentarily at a loss for what to do.

It was not uncommon for criminals to break down and beg for mercy during public trials, but they usually apologized to public security or high officials, not to Zhou Ming.

However, the crowd quickly realized that Zhou Ming was the significant figure who had led the troops to capture them. Did he also attend the scene?

The crowd immediately shouted, "Brother Zhou Ming, don't believe him. He's the biggest tumor in Jinning. We've all suffered from him. He must be sentenced to death!"

Hearing the repeated calls for death, Wang Changhao and the other city leaders, along with public security and judicial officials, were dumbfounded. They couldn't understand why everyone, including both the criminals and the public trial audience, was calling out Zhou Ming's name. Why was he so crucial?

Du Peng looked at Zhou Ming in astonishment, while Luo Wei and Lia Wenna, affected by the atmosphere, anxiously asked Zhou Ming, "Boss Zhou, you're not going to let them go, are you?"

Faced with all this, Zhou Ming could only smile helplessly in his heart: Can I just stay low for a while?