xymnovel Chapter 72 Trial
Chapter 72 Trial
At the end of July 1182 in the Julian calendar, the leaden sky hung low, as if merging with the leaden sea.
Doge Mastropile's dilapidated little boat, like an abandoned piece of rotten wood, silently slid into the Venetian Lagoon.
There were no triumphant horns, only a deathly silent port and a crowd of people gathered on the shore, their eyes cold. News of defeat always arrives faster than the ships; the devastation of Antalya and the corpses of thousands of Venetian soldiers had plunged the Republic into anger and sorrow.
Mastropier stepped shakily onto the dock, his former governorship vanished. His lips moved as he tried to say something to appease the people, even if it was just a weak and feeble explanation.
However, three figures dressed in dark black robes blocked his way. The head of the state inspectors spoke in a cold, emotionless voice: "Your Excellency Mastropier, the Republic needs your explanation for the disaster in Antalya. Please come with us for questioning."
They are the national ombudsmen elected by the committee. Venice has a powerful oversight system, and the ombudsmen have great power. They can investigate and even directly arrest high-ranking officials, and can effectively hold even the Doge accountable if the suspect is the Doge.
The people of Venice spontaneously made way for him, and rotten vegetable leaves and eggs rained down on the former domineering man, making his brocade robe, already stained with sea salt and blood, even more filthy.
The three inspectors, expressionless, supported the nearly limp Mastropier as they strode toward the governor's mansion under the watchful eyes of countless hateful gazes.
Initially, the public's anger and the censors' preliminary charges focused primarily on the governor's incompetence and dereliction of duty. However, when they arrived at the governor's residence and meticulously searched the documents in the governor's room in an attempt to obtain more detailed information about the Battle of Antalya in order to reasonably determine the governor's crimes, the censors discovered extensive records of Mastropil's bribery.
The records clearly document the enormous "gifts" that flowed from the Turks into the governor's pocket through Daniel, the consul of the St. Mark's Chamber of Commerce, as well as the huge "public relations expenses" that Daniel incurred to appease members of the Senate.
Another team of inspectors immediately sprang into action, escorted by the city's militia, heading straight for Daniel's luxurious mansion near the St. Mark's Chamber of Commerce. Daniel had just heard the commotion and was preparing to slip away through the secret passage when the door was suddenly kicked open.
"In the name of the Republic! Daniel, you are under arrest!"
The well-trained inspectors swiftly searched Daniel's residence. In a hidden compartment behind an oil painting in the study, they pried open an iron box inlaid with tortoiseshell. Inside were not gold or jewels, but a large number of transaction records, letters, and usurious loan contracts.
One of them was a secret letter to the "exiled noble merchants" of Trabzon, which detailed their plan to use them to connect with the Sultanate of Rum and promise to divide up the port's trading privileges after Antalya changed hands.
Secondly, there was a commercial profit-sharing agreement with the Turks, which clearly stipulated the tax-free allowance for Venetian merchants in the port of Antalya and the annual tribute they would pay to the Turkic Sultan.
Thirdly, there are hundreds of loan contracts on parchment, with astonishingly high interest rates and a wide range of borrowers' identities covering almost the entire city-state of northern Italy, many of whom are veterans or impoverished nobles who once served the Republic.
Fourthly, there are bribery records, detailing each "gift" or "consultation fee" paid to Mastropil and certain members of the Senate, with the time, amount, and person in charge clearly recorded.
When the evidence was laid out before Daniel, he turned ashen-faced. He tried to speak, but the inspector gave him no chance, shoving a sack over his head and taking him to the city hall.
When they arrived at the city hall, the inspector in charge of interrogating Mastropier brought good news.
Mastropier broke down almost without being tortured. In an attempt to mitigate his guilt, he shifted all the blame onto Daniel, accusing this "close friend" of seducing him with money and a "cooperation plan" with the Turks, and providing crucial witness testimony.
The governor's testimony, along with the seized letters, account books, and contracts, formed a complete chain of evidence, definitively confirming Daniel's heinous crimes of operating a loan sharking operation, bribing state officials, and treason.
Given the extremely serious nature of the case, and in order to uphold the dignity of the Republic's laws and quell public outrage, the Council of the Republic and the Senate decided to hold a public trial. The trial was to be held in St. Mark's Square, a place without a roof, where all citizens of Venice could witness the trial under the open sky.
The square was packed with people, so crowded that it was impossible to move. The trial bench was set up on the steps of the small square, where members of the committee and the Senate sat, watching as Daniel and Mastroppier, in their shackles, were brought in.
The prosecutor read the lengthy indictment aloud in public, each piece of evidence presented eliciting angry roars from the crowd. Mastropier knelt and wept bitterly, confessing his greed and folly, blaming everything on Daniel's seduction.
Daniel was dragged across the cobblestones of St. Mark's Square by two guards. He was disheveled, wearing only a dirty white linen tunic, and his legs were weak, the tips of his shoes scraping against the stone surface with intermittent sounds.
The prosecutor began reading aloud in a loud voice the secret letters between Daniel and the Trabzons, the agreement with the Turkic general to divide the profits of Antalya Port, and the ledger that recorded every loan and bribe. At this moment, Daniel was still trying to maintain a sliver of sobriety.
His lips moved, attempting to defend himself, but each new piece of evidence only fueled his despair. He felt the ground beneath his feet crumbling, plunging him from the carefully woven clouds of wealth and connections into an abyss of disgrace and universal condemnation.
"Fake...it's all fake..." he muttered to himself, his empty gaze sweeping over the faces that had once been respectful to him but now looked at him with disdain. But as the verdict drew near, a utter despair gripped him. His mental defenses completely collapsed.
Suddenly, he abruptly raised his head, a near-mad light flashing in his cloudy eyes. He broke free from the guards' grip, stretched out his trembling hands towards the gray sky, and screamed in a strange tone that was a mixture of sobs and shrieks:
"Flee Jerusalem, you Benjamites! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa...for disaster and great destruction are approaching from the north!"
"As water springs forth from the well, so too does evil spring forth from this city! And often we hear of its cruel destruction!"
"O Lord, why do you hide your face from me? I cry out to you daily, why have you forsaken your servant? Did you not promise that those who have made a covenant with you would be favored?!"
This sudden religious madness silenced the once noisy square, which then erupted into even more intense anger.
"Shut up! You blasphemer!" a voice boomed from the crowd.
"Profit-driven Jews! Do they even deserve to call upon the name of God?" another voice said with disdain.
The prosecutor, his face ashen, slammed his fist on the table and rose sharply, his voice drowning out the commotion: "Silence! Daniel, you dare to use your prophetic words to disguise your crimes in this sacred square? You exploit the masses with usury, corrupt justice with bribes, and collude with heretics to betray the interests of Christians! Every coin you own is tainted with sin, every contract you sign deviates from God's law! And now you dare to claim to be a devout believer? This is the most shameless contempt for God and all upright believers!"
These words ignited the public's final emotions, and curses and swears rained down on the judge's bench.
Daniel was terrified by the overwhelming surge of anger. He looked around and saw only faces contorted with rage. He tried to continue chanting, but the sound caught in his throat, turning into meaningless sobs.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth..."
He uttered the words with trembling breaths, but at that moment, the words of the law sounded less like a plea and more like a judgment tailor-made for him.
Finally, the presiding judge read out the verdict: "Mastropier Orio, as Governor-General of the Republic, has committed serious dereliction of duty, accepted huge bribes, and indirectly committed treason. He is hereby removed from all his posts and sentenced to life imprisonment. All his family property is confiscated, and his family members are permanently barred from holding public office."
"As for Daniel, based on the overwhelming evidence above, and the criminal's egregious act of openly defying God and His followers in this sacred court, this court hereby concludes its verdict: the criminal Daniel is guilty of operating a loan sharking business, bribing high-ranking officials, treason, and publicly defying God. He is sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out immediately! All his property is confiscated, and all illegal contracts are hereby nullified!"
As soon as the verdict was announced, a tsunami of cheers erupted in the square.