Su Che, who has always had a relatively calm personality, inevitably had a slight fluctuation in his mood at this time, feeling very regretful.
It's not that he is afraid of losing. He is not as arrogant as his brother. In his heart, victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists.
But he thought that he should have noticed this in advance, because this phenomenon was actually relatively common and had happened in both the Han and Tang dynasties, so this was not a special case.
When Xu Shengzi testified, Su Zhe didn't even ask a question. He just asked whether what he was selling was salt and whether what you were selling was salt.
In other words, as long as it is found that Wang Hongjin's private salt is not only sold to Xuzhou, then Zhang Fei has no chance at all.
Moreover, there is no doubt that Wang Hongjin’s private salt cannot be sold only to Xuzhou, because Wang Hongjin is only interested in profit, so how can he care whether the people are sick or lack salt.
detail!
detail!
We talked about it many times, but in the end, they were completely unaware of such a huge loophole.
They only focus on the legality of this salt.
Although it is not certain that he will lose at the moment, Zhang Fei's reasons will definitely affect the final judgment.
The problem is, you shouldn't make such a stupid mistake.
As long as they try harder, the other side will have no chance.
At this time, the VIP table was also silent.
In fact, many officials are scolding their mothers in their hearts. You Zhang San is clearly calling a deer a horse, and Zhao Wenzheng is not doing good deeds. He is going to make money, but it is hard to say it.
Because they all know in their hearts that there are indeed big problems with this salt policy, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a bad law.
In fact, when Zhao Bian and Zeng Gong were local officials, they faced the problem of private salt. However, many times, they could only turn a blind eye and close one eye. The common people could not afford official salt. How could they
what to do.
Without the supplement of private salt, I don’t know how much trouble this country would have caused.
In fact, the government did have records about the situation in Xuzhou at that time, because some local officials couldn't stand it, so they directly reported it to the court to inform them.
But what can be done?
Without money to pay wages, the court could only pretend to be stupid.
Not to mention the Northern Song Dynasty, there were many shortcomings in the ancient salt administration. Salt profits have always been an important source of the imperial government's finances. Whether it was central finance or local finance, as long as they encountered difficult problems, they would simply and crudely extract profits from salt.
The price of salt is often very high, and the poor cannot afford it, and salt merchants cannot sell it at a loss. This in turn leads to a salt vacuum, which gives opportunities for private salt to invade.
Of course, Wang Hongjin's private salt is not only sold to Xuzhou, but most of the salt has been sold to Xuzhou in the past two years. It is because Xuzhou has left Fengzhou and a vacuum has appeared there. The profit is very high.
.
Most of the salt in my hands is sold there.
Su Zhe took a deep breath, calmed down, then stood up and said very firmly: "The other party is obviously making a fool of himself, calling a deer a horse, and the government's improper governance can never be used as an excuse for Governor Zhao to sell private salt. This is
The two things cannot be confused.
Moreover, Governor Zhao is still a member of the clan and a minister of the imperial court. When he learns of this situation, he should immediately report it to the imperial court to stop this situation, instead of immediately sending people to sell illegal salt locally and take the opportunity to make high profits. According to the information under our control
Judging from the evidence, Governor Zhao is only seeking profit, rather than caring about human life.
This is selling private salt, and there is no difference from every private salt seller."
Zeng Gong nodded and looked at Zhang Fei again.
Zhang Fei stood up and said: "Actually, I have almost finished what I want to say. I just have two points to add. First, doctors do not make money selling medicine, and it is the patients who die, not the doctors. Secondly,
It was not that the imperial court was unaware of this matter at that time, and it was not that there were no ministers who suggested it, but as a result, the people did not wait for the government’s good medicine. I’m done.”
After saying that, he sat down.
Regarding this crime, he only had so much to say, because Su Zhe did not question the situation in Xuzhou at that time, and that the salt did save those people.
Since your core views have not been attacked, there is nothing to say.
It is up to the presiding judge to determine the final verdict, and he has tried his best.
Now the pressure is concentrated on Zeng Gong.
He frowned and thought.
He was indeed influenced by Zhang Fei's remarks. The imperial court's evil laws harmed the people. If the people were not allowed to save themselves, this would indeed be unjustifiable.
When he was a local official, he also tacitly allowed private salt to enter his territory.
Li Kai, who was sitting next to him, suddenly whispered: "Prefect, when Lu Gong was here in the past, the judgment was often postponed."
Zeng Gong glanced at him, looking extremely embarrassed.
At this moment, he finally understood why Li Kai was so afraid of Zhang Fei.
In the past, he always thought that as long as I deal with things impartially, be fair and just, and have a clear conscience, that's all. What's so rare about this?
He really doesn't understand.
But now he feels that no matter how he is sentenced, he will feel guilty.
After much consideration, he still adopted Li Kai's suggestion. He was shocked and said loudly: "Because there are many disputes about the evidence involved in this case, I still need to investigate, so I will decide another day and withdraw from the court."
Su Che and Qi Ji closed their eyes and sighed at the same time.
Even though they had irrefutable evidence, they failed to capture it on the spot. This was undoubtedly a failure for them.
Zhao Xu, who had always been ignored, walked directly to the back door without saying a word.
Zeng Gong, Sima Guang, they all saw it, but they pretended not to see it. Now the communication is nothing but awkward.
...
"You are truly worthy of your name as Zhang Da Er Pen!"
Zhao Wenzheng came to Zhang Fei, raised his hands and praised him.
Since he belongs to the clan, the government cannot take him into custody until there is a verdict. This is his privilege and he is relatively free.
"Where! Where!"
Zhang Fei cupped his hands and returned the greeting: "Mr. Zhao, please don't praise me beforehand. After all, we haven't been sentenced yet."
Zhao Wenzheng smiled and said: "I have full confidence in you."
While speaking, he glanced back a few times, with a trace of provocation in his eyes.
Behind Zhang Fei is the VIP seat.
In fact, Zhao Wenzheng felt very aggrieved. He had previously stood up to lead everyone to fight against the recruitment law, but when the disaster came, those people pushed him out, trying to use his identity to blackmail the emperor, and even later vented all their anger.
on your own head.
Can he bear this?
You have gone too far.
Now that the sentence has not been decided, it is simply a dream for you to torture me to death.
Of course you have to be arrogant at this time.
"Pack up, let's go."
Xu Zhiqian suddenly said coldly.
She couldn't stand Zhao Wenzheng's arrogant and domineering look, and she felt very angry.
"oh."
Zhang Fei said to Zhao Wenzheng again: "Governor Zhao, if there is nothing else, I will leave first."
Zhao Wenzheng glanced at Xu Zhiqian and saw that this little girl had never saluted him. He knew it in his heart, but he didn't care about Xu Zhiqian. Besides, he still had to rely on Zhang Fei. He nodded slightly awkwardly and said:
"After the judgment, I will be grateful."
"Thank you."
Zhang Fei bowed his hands and left with Xu Zhiqian.
Zhao Wenzheng looked at Zhang Fei's leaving figure and thought, no wonder he doesn't want those beautiful women, it turns out he is henpecked!
After getting on the carriage, Xu Zhiqian finally couldn't help it anymore. She stamped her feet and said in an excited tone: "Look at that Governor Zhao, he has no repentance at all and is still complacent. Maybe he is still thinking in his heart that he has money.
If you can do whatever you want, how can I, Xu Zhiqian, help such a person with a lawsuit?"
Zhang Fei consoled him: "You need to calm down first."
Xu Zhiqian said: "I always feel that it is inappropriate for you to do this. It will make people think that 20,000 yuan can trample on justice at will."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "There will definitely be people who think so, but this is a kind of progress."
"progress?"
Xu Zhiqianfeng's eyes widened and she looked at Zhang Fei with murderous intent.
Zhang Fei said: "Because in the past they were able to trample on justice without spending a penny, but now they still need to spend 20,000 yuan and take risks. Your hatred of evil in the past can only help some common people not to be bullied by small landlords. Can you
Can you stop the royal family? Can you stop the clan?"
Xu Zhiqian's expression changed, she looked away, and hummed softly: "This kind of progress is really irritating."
"Everything has to be done step by step." Zhang Fei said with a smile: "Is it Governor Zhao's fault that the clan can do whatever they want?"
Xu Zhiqian glanced at him, "Then whose fault do you think it is?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said: "This is not right or wrong, but human nature. The son of a powerful family can still do evil, let alone the clan. If the judiciary wants to solve the problem of the clan, no matter what, it requires the help of the official family
Nod, and now the officials are determined to rectify the clan, but Confucian etiquette is standing in the way. Anyone can say this, but the officials cannot."
Having said this, he paused for a moment and then said: "Let's just talk about this. If the officials and I hadn't been planning it behind the scenes, I can guarantee that Governor Zhao would not have been able to sit on it and be tried. We have actually made a lot of money.
"
Xu Zhiqian sighed quietly: "I know it too, but I feel uncomfortable thinking about Governor Zhao's face just now. I am a member of the royal family and have read books by sages. Don't you even have the slightest sense of shame?"
"This is reality." Zhang Fei smiled helplessly. He knew Xu Zhiqian's character very well and would definitely feel uncomfortable for a while.
They did not go home directly, but went to the office.
Fan Li, who came back first, saw Zhang Fei and exclaimed: "It seems that Saburo is still a treasure trove. The lawsuit just now was really exciting!"
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and said, "What's the matter? I'm only in my twenties, and I haven't had a lawsuit for only a year. So what?"
As he said that, he suddenly thought of something, "By the way! Is Xiehua Village here?"
Fan Li hurriedly said: "Not yet, probably on the way."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Are they ready for the indictment from Xiehua Village?"
Why Xie Huacun is willing to testify in court must be beneficial. Zhang Fei promised to help him get those lands back.
Fan Li nodded and said, "Everything is ready."
Zhang Fei said: "Let Zheng Wen go to the imperial court to sue."
Fan Li asked: "Aren't you going in person?"
Zhang Fei snorted: "I'm worth 20,000 yuan now. If you let me go, will you pay?"
"I can't afford to treat you." Fan Li quickly shook his head and said cheerfully: "How can Sanlang personally take action in such a small lawsuit?"
He was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth because he knew that if the final verdict was in favor of Zhao Wenzheng, then the business of their firm would definitely be much better.
Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes and said, "If you go to sue now, if the imperial court decides that the government has illegally occupied Brother Xie's land, then...then the Kaifeng government has reason to judge that Governor Zhao has occupied the official land."
Zhang Fei chuckled: "Do you think the imperial court doesn't want more than fifty hectares of land? This is impossible. Zeng Zhifu will definitely take the land back. But how will the imperial court judge the government? Kaifeng Prefecture should
How to sentence Governor Zhao, because the two cases are completely similar.
It cannot be said that if the government invades civilian land, it will be fined a small amount, and if Governor Zhao invades government land, he will be directly exiled. Logically speaking, knowing the law and breaking the law should be the highest.
I estimate that they will be fined and compensated, and then their respective fields will be returned. This will become a civil property dispute and will not involve criminal penalties. As far as Governor Zhao is concerned, what he wants now is to give up.
Wealth protects life.”
Xu Zhiqian nodded: "It would be nice to let him pay a little more."