Qin Mu looked at everyone and explained with a smile, "When my Ancient Wood was stolen previously, the perpetrators were six large men, while I lacked even the strength to truss a chicken. Furthermore, the entire incident was recorded; they spoke harshly and displayed threatening behavior, which naturally constituted the crime of robbery."

Regarding the Ancient Wood case... he personally ensured six individuals went to prison, all for robbery. The monetary value involved was substantial, and they received sentences exceeding ten years of fixed-term imprisonment.

As for Zhao Dezhu and the others... although they also snatched the pumpkins in Hu Wenning’s presence, the disparity in strength wasn’t as pronounced. Moreover, the elderly individuals were slow and not physically robust, insufficient to genuinely threaten Hu Wenning. Hu Wenning could have forcibly stopped them but refrained due to their age. This forbearance was understandable. Thus, it didn’t constitute robbery.

"So that’s how it is? What a pity Xiao Qin wasn’t there at the time; otherwise, he would have undoubtedly built an irrefutable case of robbery against them!" one person exclaimed.

"Having some legal knowledge is useful," another mused. "Sometimes, you can gather enough evidence to ensure the other party is convicted."

Someone else questioned, "Xiao Qin, are you sure you were that helpless and couldn’t have beaten those six men?"

"I think for there to be a huge disparity in strength, Hu Wenning would have had to be, say, disabled on the spot and thus incapable of stopping them," another voice chimed in.

...

Zhang Qingyuan and the others looked as though they understood, a hint of emotion in their expressions. With Qin Mu there to explain, they understood the case much more clearly. Those who knew the law and those who did not indeed handled situations very differently. When property was stolen right before their eyes, Qin Mu, in a swift countermove, had his perpetrators convicted of robbery. In Hu Wenning’s case, however, it might be impossible to establish robbery due to insufficient evidence for the charge. Without this serious charge, their sentences would be at least three years shorter.

In the crowd, Wan Zhongyuan also nodded, glancing at Qin Mu impassively. He increasingly felt that Qin Mu was dangerous. He had heard about the Ancient Wood case before: the wood was taken right in front of Qin Mu, and as a result, all six individuals were sentenced to over ten years!

One can offend anyone, but not Qin Mu, he thought, silently affirming this to himself.

「Meanwhile, in the First Criminal Trial Court of a courthouse in Zizhou District.」

After questioning the evidence for robbery, Zhang Wei continued, "Additionally, the charge of intentional destruction of property proposed by the prosecutor is also inapplicable to my clients. In the video, although my clients did destroy pumpkins, each individual destroyed a limited number of pumpkins, the value of which, per person, was only a few hundred yuan. According to criminal law, the crime of intentional destruction of property refers to the deliberate destruction or damage of public or private property involving a substantial amount or other serious circumstances. Considered individually, the value of the pumpkins destroyed by my clients does not meet the threshold for prosecution in Zizhou.

"Regarding the destroyed pumpkins..." Before everyone in the courtroom, he continued his defense. "After calculating the unit price of the pumpkins, I concluded that, on average, each of my clients had destroyed only a few. This did not meet the threshold for the crime of intentional destruction of property. Therefore, their actions did not constitute this crime."

This crime, under ordinary circumstances, is punishable by fixed-term imprisonment of no more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, with or without an accompanying fine. If the circumstances are serious, the sentence is fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years. The minimum threshold for prosecution for intentional destruction of property in Zizhou is at least 2,000 yuan. The pumpkin theft by Zhao Dezhu and the others only reached this amount in aggregate; individually, they did not. Therefore, this charge could not be established on an individual basis. His defense focused on exploiting loopholes related to the monetary threshold for prosecution.

"We do not agree with the opposing counsel’s assertions."

Immediately after, a public prosecutor stood and retorted in a deep voice, "The evidence we presented clearly shows that Zhao Dezhu and the other elderly individuals repeatedly went to the pumpkin patch to steal and destroy pumpkins, which was clearly a premeditated act. This demonstrates organized criminal intent and should be treated as a group offense. The valuation should not be determined on an individual basis but by the total value of all pumpkins destroyed."

His forceful voice echoed in the courtroom.

Hearing this, Zhang Wei’s expression involuntarily tensed.