Chapter 188: A scholar can be killed but not humiliated
At this time, Wang Hong was really in a nightmare. He couldn't believe that such an outrageous thing had the support of some officials in the court.
And it took a turn for the worse, and the voice of opposition became smaller and smaller.
Is it bullying an honest person?
Or am I being sold?
But in fact, he was not unjust. Although it was Zhang Fei who came up with the idea, it was Wang Anshi who was the most popular person in the dynasty who planned the plan. It would be relatively easy to punish him as a county magistrate and use such fair means.
Seeing that the wind was going in the wrong direction, Wang Hong quickly sent someone to contact Wei Yushan. This is your fault, and you have to take care of it yourself.
"What did Wei Yushan say?"
Seeing Zheng Yun entering the hall, Wang Hong walked over and asked.
Zheng Yun said hurriedly: "Wei Yushan has sent people to look for them, but none of Geng Ming's family is missing. They are probably hidden by someone."
"waste!"
Wang Hong couldn't help but curse loudly, "I was really hurt by him this time."
Zheng Yun said sarcastically: "The county magistrate, Wei Yushan, thinks so too."
Wang Hong was stunned, "What do you mean by this?"
Zheng Yun said: "Wei Yushan seems to think that Zhang San wants to take revenge on the county magistrate, and he is innocent."
"What?" Wang Hong opened his eyes angrily, "If I had known this, I wouldn't have protected him in the first place."
Zheng Yun said hurriedly: "The county magistrate, you can't fall out with Wei Yushan now! He still has a relationship with King Chang!"
Wang Hong's expression changed, "Will he ask King Chang to come forward?"
Zheng Yun said: "It is said that people have been sent to look for him. Although Wei Yushan believed that he was innocent, he was very angry because of it. He thought that Zhang San was bullying people too much."
Wei Yushan believes that every injustice has its owner and every debt has its owner. If you want to take revenge, go directly to Wang Hong and get him involved.
Also angry.
So innocent!
The corner of Wang Hong's mouth twitched: "After this matter is over, I will settle the score with him."
...
Court of Trial.
"It's so hard to guard against!"
Sima Guang lamented, glanced away, and said in frustration: "Otherwise, I will write to the officials, saying that judicial reform must be carried out step by step, and that the separation of politics and law must not be rash. We must first train talents for two years, otherwise, the gain will not be worth the loss."
"No!"
Liu Shu immediately objected, "If we do this, wouldn't it be playing into Wang Anshi's plan? His new method will be released soon."
Everyone sitting there nodded.
Sima Guang waved his hands and said: "If I don't do this, I will fall into Wang Anshi's alienation plan, and everyone will inevitably distrust my judicial reform, which will also be bad."
Qian Yi immediately said: "What Master Sima said is wrong. Judicial reform is for justice, not for protection."
Sima Guang said hurriedly: "What Qian Yushi said is right. I made a mistake, but I am... really in a dilemma!"
He and Wang Anshi are not on the same line. He just wants to protect the rights and interests of landlords and wealthy businessmen. Everything should be done through discussion. If the court is short of money, you have to come up with some money.
He made no secret about it and spoke frankly.
The purpose of his performance was to show those big landowners and scholar-bureaucrats that my judicial reform is not aimed at you.
Wen Yanbo had the same political philosophy as Sima Guang. Seeing that Sima Guang's performance was similar, he said: "Jun Shi! Everyone knows this, and I can't blame you. If I do, it's Wang Jiefu who is too cunning!"
Everyone sitting there nodded.
This is a stronghold of conservatives, and there is no one who does not oppose Wang Anshi.
Fan Chunren suddenly came out and said, "I have a plan to solve this problem."
Sima Guang said hurriedly: "Fan Sijian, please tell me."
Fan Chunren said: "Wouldn't it be enough to win this lawsuit?"
"...!"
Morale is quite low.
We have never defeated Zhang Fei.
Previous
After losing the game, they really didn't want to litigate with Zhang Fei anymore. Why would they want to compete with them in his professional field with an ignorant person?
Seeing that everyone was silent, Fan Chunren hurriedly said: "I think we have a high probability of winning this lawsuit."
Qi Hui sighed: "There is no possibility that Wang Hong's verdict is inappropriate. If it makes sense, Zuoting would not dare to take this lawsuit."
Fan Chunren said: "There is indeed a problem with Wang Hong's sentence, but whether he committed the crime for the sake of others or whether he was guilty of the crime has to be argued. As far as I know, Wang Hong did not accept bribes, and it is usually judged whether there is a crime or not.
The key to the crime of murdering others for culpable reasons lies in whether the official has committed corruption or accepted bribes."
Sima Guang frowned upon hearing this: "Yes! We only considered that the Judicial Court's judgment was reasonable, but we did not consider whether the petition Lu Jia asked was really reasonable."
"I also think what Fan Sijian said makes sense."
Wen Yanbo nodded and added: "But if we really want to fight, it would be better not to hold the lawsuit in the left hall. It would be more appropriate to place it in Dali Temple or the Court of Justice."
Sima Guang, Liu Shu and others all nodded slightly.
Dali Temple and the Court of Justice were the highest courts of the Song Dynasty. It was natural for them to be tried here. This would also appease everyone's emotions.
Because many officials are worried that even a small judicial officer can sue me, a fifth- and sixth-grade official, in court.
If they can only go to Dali Temple to file a complaint, then of course they have no objection. In the past, officials often went to Dali Temple for trial. The threshold is very high.
Sima Guang had not yet completed the layout, and he did not dare to take advantage of this situation to immediately separate politics and law. That would cause problems, so he was willing to take a small step back.
If the appeal can be successful, it is actually a judicial victory.
...
Alum Tower.
"Hey young! Third brother, you are here, please come in quickly."
Fan met Zhang Fei at the door and whispered: "Your Majesty has been waiting above for a long time."
Zhang Fei nodded and asked in a low voice: "We won't be heard by others when we talk later, right?"
Fan Zheng said immediately: "Third brother, please rest assured. Even if you shout loudly, no one will hear you. I'm not even opening the West Building today."
"Are you so sensible?" Zhang Fei smiled.
Fan Zheng smiled bitterly and said: "This is a fatal matter, can I not be more cautious?"
Zhang Fei chuckled: "It's not that serious, just chatting."
"Yes Yes Yes."
Fan Zheng nodded repeatedly and did not dare to say anything. He quickly welcomed Zhang Fei to the third floor of the west building and arrived at the largest private room in the middle. He was stopped by two guards standing at the door.
After the announcement, Zhang Fei entered the private room.
I saw a handsome young man who was not yet twenty years old sitting inside.
This person is none other than Chang Wang Zhao Hao.
He invited Zhang Fei to come today, of course to talk about Wei Yushan, because he felt that it was not a big deal and there was no need to ask the Queen Mother to intervene.
The key point is that Wei Yushan is just the father of his beloved concubine, not the father of the princess. If he really goes to find Empress Dowager Gao, he is not sure how much help Empress Dowager Gao is willing to do. After all, Empress Dowager Gao also hates this kind of thing.
After much deliberation, it was best to go directly to Zhang Fei. After all, he was just an ear pen, and he was the prince.
"Young people see you, Your Majesty."
"No gift!"
Zhao Hao naturally would not let Zhang Fei sit with him. He tilted his head slightly and glanced at Zhang Fei, "You are really capable of twisting the ear pen, and you are still alive to this day. I admire you a little."
Zhang Fei smiled and said nothing.
Zhao Hao was too lazy to chat with him, "I know that your move is to retaliate against Wang Hong of Kaifeng County, but why do you want to involve Wei Yushan?"
Zhang Fei glanced left and right.
Zhao Hao said: "Don't worry, I am the only one here, so you don't have to hide him."
"Yes!" Zhang Fei nodded and said, "To return to the prince, Wei Yushan has committed a heinous crime and is unforgivable. Using him as a medicine guide can also bring justice to the people. It kills two birds with one stone."
Zhao Haona
He said dullly: "How can Wei Yushan be so evil?"
Zhang Fei said: "The Yamen servant just went to his house to collect taxes. He doesn't have to pay, but he doesn't have to force him to sell his property, divorce his wife and children, and become a monk. This kind of behavior is outrageous to both humans and gods."
Zhao Hao said without confidence: "This is not one of the ten evil crimes."
Zhang Fei said in a low voice: "Just keep hitting...it will be possible!"
Zhao Hao was shocked and said: "What? Are you really planning to punish Wei Yushan for his ten evil crimes?"
Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "That's not true. I am planning to accuse Wei Yushan of seeking wealth and death."
What's the difference? Fortunately, I'm here! This kid is really vicious. Zhao Hao was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat and said quickly: "You must not do this."
Zhang Fei asked in astonishment: "Why?"
Zhao Hao said: "Don't you know that his daughter is my king's concubine?"
Zhang Fei opened his eyes wide, "This...is this impossible?"
Zhao Hao said: "If this were not the case, why would the king come to you?"
Zhang Fei immediately cried and said, "Prince, you...why didn't you tell the people earlier that this paper has already been handed over."
Zhao Hao said: "What does this have to do with it? You are the one fighting the lawsuit, you can change it!"
Zhang Fei struggled: "Your Majesty, I don't know. Wei Yushan's crime is the evidence against Wang Hong. There is no way to change it!"
Zhao Hao said excitedly: "I don't care so much. If you accuse him of seeking wealth and murder, all of my concubines will be implicated. You'd better give up this lawsuit."
Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty also knows that the common people want to take revenge on Wangzhi County. If the common people were afraid, they would not do this."
Zhao Hao frowned, that's right! He dared to sue even the magistrate of Chi County for his small ears. Would he be afraid of death? But he said firmly: "I don't care so much. If you take revenge on Wang Hong, that's it."
Wei Yushan must not be implicated in your affairs."
Zhang Fei struggled for a while and said: "Since the prince came to see the people in person, the people can agree not to accuse Wei Yushan of seeking wealth and murder, but he cannot escape the crime of tax evasion and robbing people's fields. Wei Yushan must come up with the crime at that time.
A sum of money is required to forgive the sins, including compensation for Geng Ming’s losses and payment of back taxes.”
Zhao Hao thought for a while and suddenly felt that it would be great to be able to spend money to eliminate the disaster. Although before he came, he had planned for Zhang Fei to completely give up suing Wei Yushan and stood up, "That's it."
After saying that, he left.
After the door closed, Zhang Fei raised a smile on his lips.
In fact, he had no intention of accusing Wei Yushan of seeking wealth and murder, but just to scare Zhao Hao, because his purpose was to take revenge on Wang Hong and help Wang Anshi recover the tax money.
If we talk about seeking money and killing people, it is definitely not to deter people, but to force people to rebel.
Those big landowners will definitely attack in groups, and they will never pay taxes. If they do, it will prove that they have evaded taxes in the past.
It's just that Zhang Fei had thought in advance about how he would respond if Zhao Hao came to see him.
Now that Zhao Hao has come forward, it proves that this lawsuit is a certainty.
Sure enough, when Zhang Fei returned home, Lu Huiqing had been waiting for a long time.
"King Chang?"
When Lu Huiqing learned that Zhang Fei had gone to see King Chang before, he was startled and immediately asked: "How did you deal with it?"
Zhang Fei said in a low voice: "I just said that I would sue Wei Yushan for seeking wealth and murder."
Lu Huiqing was delighted to hear that, "Smart."
But there was a hint of disappointment in his tone. He originally expected King Chang to go directly to Empress Dowager Gao, but it didn't matter. His goal had been achieved. Although many ministers in the court chose to support Sima Guang, he believed that they would also do so in the future.
I will be wary of Sima Guang's judicial reforms.
"They asked to be tried in the Criminal Court. What do you think?" Lu Huiqing said.
Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "It must not be tried in the trial court. After all, this is a lawsuit related to the interests of the people. Only a public trial in Kaifeng Prefecture can arouse people's expectations for the new law."
Lu Huiqing nodded and said: "I think so too, but if we request to be tried in Kaifeng Mansion, the judge may have to
They'll decide."
Zhang Fei was surprised and said, "Can't Magistrate Lu do it?"
Lu Huiqing clicked his tongue: "Lu Jiawen is the nephew of the prefect Lu, so he has to avoid suspicion."
"That's true." Zhang Fei nodded, "Who do you think Collector Lu thinks they will choose?"
Lu Huiqing said: "Of course we can't let them choose. We plan to let Prime Minister Zhao come to the trial. Regarding the new law, Prime Minister Zhao is opposed to his mentor, but in this case, he supports Geng Ming. Let him be the trial. Compared with
It’s good for us.”
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "As long as the presiding judge is fair, I don't care."
Lu Huiqing smiled and said, "Don't be careless. I heard that Fan Sijian volunteered to defend Wang Hong. He has no friendship with Wang Hong, so he obviously came here for you."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "My general is defeated, so why worry about it?"
...
This matter made a big fuss, and Zhao Xu never paid much attention to it, but by ignoring it, he was actually siding with Zhang Fei. This matter was indeed outrageous, and the emperor only had to ask a question to stop the matter from happening.
Of course, just because he doesn't care, it doesn't mean you can make the decision.
Although this matter may seem small, only the emperor can decide.
Because the emperor is the highest judge and the highest chief executive of the country, when the two powers compete, who can make the decision?
Wang Anshi and Sima Guang would not commit such a taboo.
Although they had reached a private agreement that the trial would be held in Kaifeng Mansion, with Zhao Pian presiding over the trial, whether they could sue or not would have to be decided by the emperor.
Zhao Xu didn't even hold a special meeting to discuss the matter, and just decided on it.
...
As soon as the news came out, it immediately aroused great concern among the people.
They were not concerned about the feud between Zhang Fei and Wang Hong. They were more concerned about Geng Ming and Wei Yushan. It was the tax season.
At this time, it is impossible to keep a low profile when fighting such a lawsuit!
Today is the day of trial.
There was already a sea of people in front of the gate of Kaifeng Mansion early, and it was so jammed.
"Zhang San, why did you come so early this time?"
Cao Dongdong sat on Zhang Fei's carriage, swaying his legs, and asked Zhang Fei.
Xu Zhiqian next to her also looked at Zhang Fei curiously.
In the past, Zhang Fei always made his debut last, but this time Zhang Fei arrived earlier than Cao Dongdong and Ma Xiaoyi.
Xu Zhiqian used to wait at Zhang's house, but this time Zhang Fei went to Xu's house to wait.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I want to meet someone."
"Who?" Cao Dongdong asked with a gossipy face.
Zhang Fei just smiled.
Ma Xiaoyi suddenly said: "Third brother, you promised me last time that you would bring me with you next time you file a lawsuit."
Zhang Fei was surprised: "Aren't you drunk?"
Ma Xiaoyi said innocently: "I remember it even when I'm drunk!"
Why are you pretending to be innocent? This kid must have been pretending last time. Zhang Fei suddenly took Xu Zhiqian's little hand and said, "I have no choice but to break my trust with you this time. This is not an assistant, this is a wife, and you can't replace her."
Xu Zhiqian quickly retracted her hand and said, "Wife, don't talk nonsense." Then she said to Ma Xiaoyi: "Xiao Ma, if you really want to help, you can help get the papers next time."
Ma Xiaoyi nodded excitedly and said, "Thank you so much, Mrs. Xu, thank you so much, Mrs. Xu. I can carry any more."
Cao Dongdong said enviously: "Can you take me with you too?"
"Your father is willing, it doesn't matter to me!" Zhang Fei shrugged.
Cao Dongdong is confused.
Suddenly, Zhang Fei glanced aside and said, "I'll excuse you now."
Just walk forward.
Xu Zhiqian turned her head and saw Fan Chunren and Wang Hong walking over. She couldn't help but shake her head with a wry smile.
When Wang Hong saw Zhang Fei, he was extremely jealous when he saw an enemy, and his fists clenched and rattled.
"Fan Sijian, you're fine."
Zhang Fei bowed his hand to Fan Chunren.
Fan Chunren said with a serious face: "I won't lose to you this time."
"In a fair way, I am willing to accept any failure." Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Can I have a few words with Wang Zhixian?"
Fan Chunren glanced at Wang Hong and then left.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Wangzhixian, you can't believe that we met again so soon, but today Wangzhixian lacks a bit of prestige. Is it because you didn't bring the water and fire stick?"
Wang Hong snorted angrily: "You won't succeed."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "Did you ever think that it would be impossible to take this matter to court, but what would be the result?"
Wang Hong immediately glared at him and said, "I really shouldn't have spared you so lightly last time."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "Don't say you are so merciful. If you had been able to beat me, I would have beaten you. In fact, I am the same as you, so this time I must treat you so that you cannot stand up."
A flash of fear flashed in Wang Hong's eyes, and he sneered: "I am a Jinshi, and you are just a small ear pen. Even if you lose the lawsuit, you can't kill me, but you, please don't fall into my hands."
"
Zhang Fei suddenly leaned forward and whispered in Wang Hong's ear: "If I want to be an official, I can do so at any time. Just wait to die, you beast."
After that, he turned around and left.
When Xu Zhiqian saw Zhang Fei coming back, she immediately walked over and glanced at Wang Hong behind him. When she saw that her face turned purple with anger, she knew what had happened and couldn't help but ask Zhang Fei, "What about it?"
Zhang Fei said calmly: "Respect is mutual."
The scene when I returned to the county government office last time really irritated Zhang Fei. Qiu Zhengwen and the others were lying on the open ground, they didn't look like human beings. This man could be killed and not humiliated.
He must go back for revenge.
He came here so early for no other reason than to curse and vent.