Zhang Fei's seemingly very reasonable explanation made some of them feel uneasy in the eyes of the distinguished guests.
What happened?
There must be a story happening during this lunch.
Because of the interrogation in the morning, most people believed that Zhang Fei was indeed biased, but as soon as the afternoon began, these questions caused the case to take a turn for the worse.
In particular, it was confirmed that the edict was false.
Coupled with Zhang Fei's change in attitude towards Zhong E, this will inevitably make people think.
Zhong E is naturally very angry, but he can only endure it. If he gets angry with Zhang Fei at this time, it will be a dead end. As long as Zhang Fei finds him guilty, those civil servants will definitely support Zhang Fei with all their strength, and then he will be killed. To the point of death.
Zhang Fei did not care about their feelings, but continued to ask Li Shui: "Master Li, you don't need to care about what Deputy Zhong said. You just answer the questions of the president of the court and tell what you saw and heard."
"yes."
When Li Shui first went to court, he was still very nervous. Now that he saw that the president of the court was very nice and full of gratitude and respect for him, and since he was already facing Lu Shen, he was naturally less afraid.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Do you have anything to add to the question just now?"
Li Shui had finished speaking, but Zhong E interrupted him and actually added: "As far as I know at that time, Vice Envoy Zhong was deployed in Suizhou and was preparing to fight without any sign of retreat. It can be seen that he had no intention of retreating. Plan to withdraw our troops."
Zhang Fei nodded and turned to look at Zhong E, "Deputy Envoy Zhong, after you occupied Suizhou, did you receive any orders from Prefect Lu?"
Zhong E was still a little resentful in his heart, but he just nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei said: "Then did you listen at that time?"
Zhong E shook his head and thought, I can't fight with him, this will be a disadvantage for me. He quickly added: "But there is a reason why I did this."
"What's the reason?" Zhang Fei asked.
Zhong E said: "As Director Li said, the first order from Magistrate Lu did not involve the Weimingshan Division, so I wrote back to ask for clarification. As for the second order, I have considered General Zhe and other The deployment of the army is by no means as simple as Chief Li said, which is just to withdraw the troops and horses to Qingjian City."
Zhang Fei yelled: "How do you say this?"
Zhong E said: "During the initial inducement to surrender, the commanders of the surrounding armies knew about this, because we also thought that once Suizhou was recaptured, Xixia would never give up. Generals such as Zhe Jishi and others had all made arrangements in advance.
If I choose to withdraw my troops suddenly without consulting them, this will make them very passive, and I must communicate with them first.
Secondly, the enemy troops came at that time, and they were all part of our plan. I was prepared to fight, and the chance of victory was very high. Even if I did not withdraw, there would not be any danger."
Zhang Fei nodded and said to Li Shui: "Master Li, I don't have any other questions at the moment. You can go down and rest first. If necessary, I will ask you to come up."
"yes."
Li Shui stood up, bowed his hands, and then retreated.
Zhang Fei suddenly looked aside and said, "Mr. Guo, I have to trouble you to go to court again to help the president of the court clarify a problem."
Guo Kui was stunned, as if he didn't understand why Zhang Fei asked him to appear in court again, but he still came to court.
Zhang Fei explained: "Did Mr. Guo Xianggong listen to Mr. Li's confession just now?"
Guo Kui nodded.
Zhang Fei said: "Then Xianggong Guo should also hear that the deputy envoy Zhong also involves the issue of correcting the imperial edict. Mr. Guo has led troops for many years and has rich experience. Can you tell me how to deal with the situation of deputy envoy Zhong?
It’s the most appropriate.”
Guo Kui first looked at Zhang Fei depressedly, "It's really embarrassing for you to ask this question."
He thought for a while and then said: "Under normal circumstances, we should strictly abide by orders and should not send troops without authorization, let alone send troops on the basis of an imperial edict."
Having said this, he paused for a moment, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "But under special circumstances, this kind of thing has happened. It is not limited to military generals. Some civilian officials have also behaved similarly, even in military affairs."
In an emergency, you can't contact your superiors, or you haven't waited for orders from your superiors, and you don't have the authority. When faced with a crisis, you can only make up orders and command your troops to fight first."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Then how does the court usually deal with this kind of situation?"
Guo Kui said: "Not necessarily, it depends on the specific situation."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Based on Xianggong Guo's experience, do you think it was a military emergency at that time?"
Guo Kui started sweating as soon as he came up. How can you ask a question like this? Why don't you be more reserved and more direct than a general like me? This answer seems wrong no matter what. He hesitated for a while and then said: "I personally thought
It is relatively sudden, but the best way to deal with it is to discuss it with Magistrate Lu."
This old driver is different. He tries his best not to offend both parties.
Zhang Fei continued to ask: "If Magistrate Lu does not agree, how will Mr. Guo deal with it?"
Guo Kui said directly: "I was not in Yanzhou at the time, so I had no way of knowing the specific situation at that time, and I dare not speak nonsense."
"fine!"
Zhang Fei said again: "Thank you again, Mr. Guo for your help."
Guo Kui nodded and looked at Zhong E with a slightly apologetic look.
Zhong E still nodded gratefully.
Su Zhe suddenly frowned and whispered: "It's really strange to say that even if Deputy Zhong knew that Magistrate Lu would refuse, he could still send a letter and let him know first. In this way, even if he didn't wait for Magistrate Lu's reply, he could
, if we send troops immediately, we won’t make Magistrate Lu so angry.”
Wang Shen whispered: "Actually, there has been a rumor about this."
Su Che asked: "What rumors?"
Wang Shendao said: "It was because Zhonge actually had secret edicts from the officials at that time that he decided to send troops."
Su Che said in surprise: "Really?"
Wang Shendao said: "I heard this rumor before when I was the manager under Mr. Han."
Chen Qi frowned and said: "But according to our investigation, Deputy Ambassador Zhong never admitted that there was such a secret edict. There was no mention of it in the files at that time, and the officials never mentioned it. In addition, at that time,
The official has just ascended the throne, how could he issue a secret edict to Deputy Envoy Zhong?"
Wang Shen said: "So this is a rumor, and I only heard it through hearsay."
Su Che frowned slightly.
Suddenly I heard Zhang Fei say: "Pass on Chen Xiaowu."
Chen Xiaowu?
who is it?
Everyone present looked confused again.
Chen Qi smiled bitterly and said: "Whether he is the president of the court or the Erbi, the witnesses he hears will always confuse people."
But I saw a man in his twenties, wearing short brown clothes, walking forward. As he stood there, his legs were trembling uncontrollably. He was hesitant and didn't know what to do.
Lu Shen looked at this man's attire and couldn't help but secretly glance at Zhong E opposite him. He found that Zhong E was also looking at this man. He didn't seem to recognize him and was extremely curious.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Chen Xiaowu, please sit down."
"Oh oh oh!"
Chen Xiaowu nodded, supported the back of the chair, and sat down slowly.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Are you a little thirsty?"
Chen Xiaowu was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer.
Zhang Fei ordered: "Bring him a cup of tea."
When the tea was delivered, Chen Xiaowu held it in both hands and took a sip, feeling a little calmer.
Zhang Fei waited for a moment and then asked with a smile: "Chen Xiaowu, what do you do?"
Chen Xiaowu raised his head and said, "I am a soldier."
Zhang Fei asked: "Where do you serve as a soldier?"
Chen Xiaowu said: "Currently he is in the Yongxing Army."
"How many years have you been a soldier?"
"Eight years."
"Eight years? You look as old as me, so you have been a soldier very early."
"hey-hey."
Chen Xiaowu scratched his head and smiled honestly, "It's quite early, but I should be older than the officials."
Zhang Fei said: "Really? How old are you this year?"
"I'm twenty-seven."
"You are indeed two or three years older, so I have to call you Brother Chen."
"Ouch! I don't dare! I don't dare!"
Chen Xiaowu waved his hands sheepishly.
The people next to me saw it with their eyes popping out. Are you trying a case, or are you calling each other brothers?
As the president of the court, you must be very easy-going.
But why are you so uneasy with us?
Zhong E also has a lot of opinions. The training I just gave was very authoritative, so how can I treat him well?
Is it true that witnesses have the highest status in the imperial court?
Zhang Fei asked again: "In the fourth year of Zhiping, where did you serve as a soldier?"
"I'm in Qingjian City." Chen Xiaowu said immediately.
The small talk just now made him feel that the president of the court was different from all other officials, so he was no longer afraid.
Zhong E looked shocked, "My soldiers? Why don't I have any impression at all?"
Zhang Fei asked: "What position do you hold?"
"Huo Fu." Chen Xiaowu said.
"!"
Zhong E suddenly looked depressed, and I said, "How could I not recognize my soldier? He turned out to be a handyman."
The other distinguished guests also looked puzzled.
Fireman?
In front of half a stick of incense, the person sitting here was the Xuanfu Envoy, a person known as Xianggong level. In a blink of an eye, a fireman came and sat there.
This gap was so big that everyone was speechless.
Zhang Fei asked, "Since you were serving as a fireman in Qingjian City at that time, did you participate in the Battle of Suizhou?"
Chen Xiaowu just nodded, "I'm going! I'm going!"
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Why are you so excited?"
Chen Xiaowu said hey: "Because I am a fireman, generally speaking, when we send troops to Suizhou, we will run behind them, but that time, I followed the team directly to kill them. Originally, I thought I had made a contribution, but
Unexpectedly, nothing happened."
Zhang Fei asked curiously: "Really? Do you know why this is?"
Chen Xiaowu said: "I didn't know it at first. Anyway, that's what it said, let's go together. It wasn't until later that I found out that the other party had agreed to surrender. If everyone goes there, there is no need to fight, so we have to make a fire and cook immediately. Then
Naturally, we firemen have to follow us all the time."
Zhang Fei asked: "Did there be a fight at that time?"
Chen Xiaowu shook his head and said: "No, the soldiers standing guard on the opposite side immediately put down their weapons when they saw us coming and led us the way."
Zhang Fei asked: "Didn't you encounter any resistance at all?"
"No!"
Saying that, Chen Xiaowu added: "You can't say that. When we surrounded the enemy's camp, I saw some people still pointing weapons at us, but after a while, their leader came out, and then they put down their weapons.
.”
Zhang Fei asked: "Don't you find it strange? When the people in front saw you coming, they immediately put down their weapons, but the people behind them took up their weapons."
Chen Xiaowu said: "I don't know about this. Maybe it scared them. We killed them suddenly and surrounded them all at once."
Zhong E put his face in his hands and didn't want to speak. Your answer was really rough. No wonder you are just a handyman.
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "Thank you very much, Brother Chen, for being able to testify in court."
Chen Xiaowu hurriedly said: "It should, it should."
Zhang Fei said: "You go down and rest for now. If necessary, I will teach you again."
"Oh! Then I'll go down first."
"please."
After Chen Xiaowu went down, Zhang Fei immediately said again: "Pass the earth to be moist."
I saw another man in short brown clothes coming to the court.
After he sat down, Zhang Fei asked: "Turun, where are you from?"
Tu Run replied: "I am from Suizhou, but my parents are both from Yanzhou. They were kidnapped to Suizhou more than ten years ago."
Zhang Fei asked: "Then what do you do?"
Tu Run replied: "I used to serve as a soldier under General Xiaoweiming."
Zhang Fei said: "Is Wei named Yishan?"
"Um."
"During the fourth year of Zhiping, you also served as a soldier under Wei Mingyishan?"
"Um."
"Then did you know at that time that Wei Mingyishan had surrendered to the Song Dynasty?"
"I know. I was the one who bribed Li Wenxi with those gold objects."
"Really? Why would Weiming Yishan send you?"
"Because Li Wenxi's ancestors are also from Yanzhou, his relationship with me is pretty good."
"How is the result?"
"I thought it was going well at the time, but Li Wenming was very greedy for money and lustful. When he saw those gold objects, he quickly agreed."
"What did you think at the time? How could you say this?"
"Later I found out that Li Wenxi did not go to persuade Wei Mingshan to surrender, but swallowed those gold vessels."
"Why did you say that?"
"When General Zhong and others came, General Daweiming was still holding weapons and preparing to mount a battle. General Xiaoweiming was confused, so he asked General Daweiming, 'My brother has already agreed to surrender, why do you do this?'"
Only then did General Daweiming know that General Xiaoweiming had surrendered, and saw that the morale of the army was shattered, so he did not resist and surrendered together with General Xiaoweiming."
"Why do you know so clearly?"
"Because I was with General Xiaoweiming at that time."
"Are it just you and General Xiaoweiming?"
"No, at that time everyone was surrounding General Dawei, preparing to leave camp to fight. Many people saw him."
"Where is Li Wenxi now?"
"Li Wenxi took advantage of the chaos and ran away with a concubine of the famous general Dawei. He has not been found yet."
Since Li Wenxi wants to covet that wealth, he will definitely not stay. Otherwise, both parties will come to settle accounts with him.
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded: "Thank you very much for being able to testify in court. You can go down and rest for a while."
"yes."
After Tu Run left, Zhang Fei summoned more than ten soldiers to testify in court, but they all asked the same questions.
It made some of the VIPs drowsy!
As for that?
If you ask a dozen people to talk about this process, are we stupid? We have to listen to it more than ten times before we can remember it.
Wei Yingfang even thought to himself, if you ask for evidence like this, if the witness has to pay for the accommodation of the carriage and horse, the cost of trying a case is really not small! No, is this kid trying to make money through this?
But there were also some people who listened very raptly, nodding frequently from time to time, with a hint of approval in their eyes.
Guo Kui stroked his beard and said with a smile: "It seems that this boy is not lying. He can become the president of this court because of his ability."
Zhong Ji asked curiously: "Why did Mr. Guo say this? If you ask a junior general about this matter, you can know the whole story. Why ask some soldiers to ask."
"The wonderful thing is here."
Guo Kui smiled and said: "If you just ask a young general to ask, it won't be convincing. After all, they were all your brother's old subordinates."
Zhong Ji was stunned for a moment, then said: "Those soldiers are also my third brother's old troops."
Guo Kui said: "So it is difficult to be convincing. But compared to the generals, the soldiers were completely unaware of the matter. They could only see one side of the whole thing, but they would
The confessions taken together represent the entire process of the incident. Unless they all discussed it in advance, it would be impossible to spell out the entire incident, which is convincing enough."
Zhong Ji nodded repeatedly, "That's it."
Zhe Jizu asked again: "Are these confessions so important?"
"Of course it's very important."
Guo Kui said: "You haven't heard it yet? These confessions illustrate two problems. First, Deputy Zhong didn't know that Li Wenxi was behind the scenes. It would be bad if Deputy Zhong knew about it in advance and reported lies to the court.
Yes, it proves that what deputy envoy Zhong did was just for greed of merit and regardless of the overall situation, just as Zheng Xueshi said.
Secondly, it shows that Vice Envoy Zhong has made perfect preparations and is sure of victory rather than taking risks. This also proves that Vice Envoy Zhong did not lie and that the opportunity at that time was fleeting."
Zhong Ji said happily: "In other words, these confessions are beneficial to my third brother."
Guo Kui nodded.
At this moment, a bang was heard, and Zhang Fei's voice was heard: "It is reported that the Fourth Propaganda Envoy of Hebei Province, Wei Guogong, has appeared in court to testify."
Guo Kui almost bit his tongue.
No!
Even Han Qi came to testify in court.
The rest of the people were also shocked, including Cai Bian, Cai Jing and others, who all dropped the pens in their hands. Su Che was also dumbfounded.
What a shocking case this is.
Han Qi was actually asked to come and testify.
In terms of fame and status, Han Qi is the well-deserved number one, even Fu Bi is not as good as him.
To put it bluntly, except the emperor, who else could invite Han Qi.
Even Lu Shen felt flattered by this.
They all looked up.
But I saw an elegant scholar in his early thirties coming to the court, but Han Qi was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is this Duke of Wei?"
"Who is this person?"
"Don't you all know this? This is the eldest son of Wei Guogong, who is currently the general judge of Yongning Army, Han Zhongyan."