The reason why those officials were nervous about the crime of rebellion was because rebellion would lead to a series of crimes, and the implications were wide-ranging. As for Luo Hai's personal safety, not many people actually cared about it, because the Department of Taxation had conclusive evidence that they were funding Wu Tian, especially for killing him.
I've beaten many tax policemen, but even if it's not considered a crime of rebellion, it's probably a dead end!
However, after being reminded by Zhang Fei, Li Guozhong suddenly realized a very big loophole, that is, there was a very sharp contradiction between the public security system and the joint sitting system.
The public prosecutor's office only looks at evidence, but the court's joint prosecution looks at blood ties and interpersonal relationships.
It is impossible for the public prosecutor to bring all the parents and neighbors to court because there is no evidence to prove that they were all involved.
The Crown Court cannot convict a person who does not exist in the indictment.
In the old judicial system, because the official presided over the trial, there was no opponent in the court. The two divisions, Ji and Ji, only assisted, or a kind of division of labor.
The judge makes a judgment based on the two statements.
They have the power to include many people.
When it comes to the continuous sitting system, there must be innocence, but this innocence is actually recognized by the judiciary. When it comes to the crime of rebellion, it is better to kill a thousand people than let one person go.
But this is not allowed by the public security system.
The current systems of the Liaison Law and the Public Security Bureau cannot match.
If there is no large-scale implication, just kill these people, and Li Guozhong and others will have achieved their goal!
However, Li Guozhong has not made any announcement for the time being, and this has to be left to the backend. If it is raised during the trial, the Royal Court and the Procuratorate may make adjustments to the prosecution.
We have to wait until the verdict is reached before taking any further action.
...
However, many people have not realized this, including Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.
However, Wang Anshi absolutely supports a heavy sentence, because they are partly responsible for the chaos on Jingdong East Road. They can also use the same tactics to deal with his new policies. The Public Security Bureau is clearing the way for him, and of course he is willing to enjoy it.
Its success.
However, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and others were deeply worried about this.
After the trial, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and others went to a small garden on the edge of the imperial city to rest. After all, the weather was very good these days and they didn't like to stay indoors.
Lu Gong wrote: "Judging from today's trial, the procuratorate won the case, which is already difficult to reverse. However, this time Zhang San seems to really not intend to show mercy. This is not like his style."
In the past, Zhang Sandu still had three points of leeway and would consider the overall situation. This is what they admired about Zhang Fei very much, and he could not do things to perfection.
Wen Yanbo said thoughtfully: "In the past, Zhang Fei was just an Erbi, which can also be said to be a businessman. Businessmen naturally have three points of leeway in doing things, but now that Zhang San is an official, he should be hoping to take advantage of this case.
, to further assert the authority of the Procuratorate and the Taxation Department. But doing so is really ill-considered!"
Sima Guang asked: "Where did Duke Wen start from saying this?"
Wen Yanbo said: "At present, the Public Security Bureau has just been built on Jingdong East Road, and is still weak and unable to control the situation. Once those people are all convicted of rebellion, someone will secretly add fuel to the flames and pull more innocent people into it, which will
If someone gets caught, all the responsibilities will fall on the public security organs, which will only outweigh the gains and losses."
Once a rebellion occurs, it may be uncontrollable. Is it really just Luo Hai and others who collude with the bandits?
There must be more than that!
What is good at the top will be bad at the bottom.
The people below will definitely report it, and in the process, many people will definitely add fuel to the flames, because this time there will be more and more opponents, and the situation will get completely out of control.
These are all routines.
Sima Guang was familiar with history books, and he knew very well about this situation that Wen Yanbo was definitely not alarmist. He couldn't help but sigh: "It's a pity that Zhang San is no longer an Erbi, but a prosecutor. According to the system, the procuratorate is independent
Yes, I can't interfere."
Wen Yanbo glanced at Sima Guang sadly. In fact, he said these words to ask Sima Guang to intervene.
Fu Bi on the side frowned and said nothing, thinking, what on earth did I overlook?
He also believed that if some innocent people were implicated in this case, it would definitely be more than worth the loss and would be extremely detrimental to the public prosecutor and the law. However, he believed that Zhang Fei would not do this because Zhang Fei valued the public prosecutor and the law more than anyone else. But based on the current case,
Look, Zhang Fei is just trying to kill them, making it clear that he will not give them a way to survive.
Fu Bi thought there must be a mystery in this.
But it was precisely because they limited their attention to Zhang Fei's operations and ignored the imperial court that made the final decision, that they didn't understand it for a while.
We can only continue to wait for the follow-up, after all, the lawsuit has not yet been completed.
...
Over there, after Zhang Fei captured Wu Tian and Luo Hai, he immediately speeded up. Among the next thirty-two people, they were all in groups of four, because they were all similar to Luo Hai, but the goods they funded might be different. Some
They give money, and some give food, but the amounts vary.
During these trials, Zhang Fei mainly emphasized the amount of funding they provided, because this was the biggest difference with Luo Hai.
As for Li Guozhong and others, they still did their best to emphasize the environment on Jingdong East Road at that time and the panic caused by the Qingmiao Law.
After five more trials, all 35 people charged by the procuratorate finally appeared in court.
Next comes the closing argument.
First, of course, the prosecution makes its closing argument first.
Zhang Fei took a sip of tea, stood up, glanced at the copy, and said: "As for the first defendant Wu Tian, I can only say that the crimes he committed are too numerous to describe.
Although the other party repeatedly tried to describe him as an ordinary robber, because in the legal provisions of "Song Xingtong", the crime of rebellion was attributed to the "law of thieves and thieves".
However, "Song Xingtong" has a very clear explanation of rebellion and banditry.
In "Song Xingtong", the crime of treason is defined as seeking to endanger the country. "Conspiracy" refers to "intentional". Only when you have a purpose and deliberately commit acts that endanger the country and the monarch can it be defined as the crime of treason.
.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The crime of robbery is to rely on violence to rob other people's property. This behavior will certainly endanger national security, but its purpose is to possess other people's property, and the harm it causes
, which is also very, very small.
There are still obvious differences between the two.
As for the crimes Wu Tian committed, his purpose was obviously not to possess other people's property. First of all, he had an unforgettable hatred for the court, the government, and officials. He longed to overthrow the rule of the court and officials, and he took action.
Burning warehouses, robbing official silver, smuggling official knives, and coercing officials to do his bidding.
Secondly, in Liu Lian's confession, she once said that Wu Tian hoped to use her to do regular business. But the facts proved that Wu Tian was using Liu Lian to bribe or blackmail officials to obtain some prohibited goods, such as official knives, such as
War horses, such as bows and arrows, etc.
This is also the biggest difference between Wu Tian and ordinary bandits. He is not only seeking money, but also using money to expand his power, expand his interpersonal relationships, and even infiltrate and corrupt the government.
Finally, the other party argued that Wu Tian’s various actions were in response to the imperial decree. I don’t want to say more about this because he has now been arrested and he has lost this qualification.
Based on the current evidence, it is sufficient to prove that Wu Tian had reasons, premeditation, and deliberately undermined the stability of the country. Therefore, I implore the imperial court to sentence Wu Tian for the crime of rebellion."
Having said this, he paused for a moment, took another sip of tea, turned over a page of copy, and continued: "As for Luo Hai and the other thirty-three people, the current evidence is enough to prove that they funded Wu Tian, not
He wanted to avoid taxes, defend his own power, and seek more power, including the power to compete with the imperial court.
And throughout history, anyone who supports those who rebel against thieves seeks power, a power that is not restricted by laws and systems.
The only way to gain this kind of power is to overthrow the existing system and laws, which are the two main pillars supporting the country. This is definitely an attempt to endanger the country. Therefore, I implore the Chief Justice to sentence them to assisting in the rebellion.
crime."
After he finished his closing statement, Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo and others all looked at each other with worried expressions. At this point, Zhang Fei's work has basically been completed. Everyone can clearly feel that Zhang Fei's work is basically completed.
Fei just didn't intend to leave any room.
After a while, Li Lei stood up and said: "As for Wu Tian, about Luo Hai, and about all the defendants in this case, have they committed a crime? They are absolutely guilty. Even if I am employed by them, I have never committed a crime."
to deny the crimes they committed.
But it is not a crime of rebellion. I don’t think so. As prosecutor Zhang said, seeking to endanger the country is a deliberate and purposeful act. But I don’t think Wu Tian, Luo Hai and others deliberately undermined the stability of the country.
When you feel scared, panicked, and forced into a desperate situation, all you do is actually just to protect yourself. Take Wu Tian as an example, why he fell into the trap of a bandit because he was bullied by officials and his family’s farmland
He was taken away by the government and his parents died as a result.
He can only turn into a bandit and rob for a living.
Why did he attack the tax police? Because it was the tax police who targeted him first. Why did he want to expand his power? Because he attacked the tax police and he was worried about retaliation.
Everything he did was to protect himself and survive. Although he was guilty, it was not rebellion. In addition, everyone should not ignore one point, that is, the environment on Jingdong East Road at that time. Not to mention the common people, many wealthy households were The young people were forced to make money and their families were destroyed, and they were heavily in debt. Among them, it was common for common people to attack tax collectors. This was actually not much different from what Wu Tian did.
Luo Hai and others are good citizens. They would not attack officials or murder tax policemen, so before the crisis, they chose to fund Wu Tian. Of course, this was a wrong choice, but they were just out of Self-preservation.
Therefore, I sincerely request the Chief Justice to sentence my client without any intention of treason."
After Zhao Pin heard this, he suddenly asked: "Defense, do you know our regulations on defense?"
Li Lei was stunned for a moment, and then said with a guilty conscience: "I know."
Zhao Pin added: "Then you should know that the defense regulations cannot be applied to harming innocent people?"
Li Lei was speechless.
You are too reluctant to protect yourself. If you protect yourself, you rob and kill people. If you protect yourself, you burn food.
Zhao Pin just pointed out this point, and then announced: "Today's trial ends here. After the president of the court has reviewed all the evidence, he will select a date to open the court and pronounce the verdict."
Although there was no verdict in court, everyone present knew very well that the procuratorate already had victory in its pocket.
In the final analysis, the public prosecutor's office still prefers evidence, but judging from the closing arguments of both parties, the procuratorate has repeatedly emphasized evidence and conclusive evidence.
Li Lei, on the other hand, emphasized environment and cause and effect, but during the process of asking for confessions, he was unable to connect the two as a whole to form a necessary cause and effect relationship.
The Young Crops Law has made people uneasy, so you're going to deal with the Department of Taxation?
Maybe there is a certain relationship between the two, but this cannot be used as a basis in court.
I saw many dignitaries leaving the imperial court with gloomy faces.
Sima Guang and the others saw it in their eyes and worried in their hearts.
After the imperial court makes a decision, it may be necessary to enter the traditional part of officialdom, that is, the game between king and minister.
At this time, there must be many powerful people speculating that the emperor is going to conduct a major purge.
The key point is that the current internal situation in the Song Dynasty shows signs of this, mainly the conflicts caused by land annexation. To release the land, we must take action against these powerful people.
Because everyone knows very well that Luo Hai and others have no intention of rebellion. Their counterattack, to a certain extent, represents the protection of their own power by the powerful class.
If you want to kill Wu Tian and Luo Hai, it is actually acceptable to them, but if you want to commit a rebellion, it means that you will take action against more people.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Although the Procuratorate is independent, they believe that the Procuratorate would not dare to do this without the emperor's connivance, and the Tax Department is above the Emperor.
At the beginning, Sima Guang did not dare to reform the emperor's laws because he was worried that things would evolve to this point.
Because in this kind of game, nine times out of ten, it will end with the emperor's defeat. One of the important reasons is that the powerful people in the dynasty have already taken shape. They have enough people to be able to afford to lose, and you, the emperor, are the losers. Not worth it.
Originally, Sima Guang thought that he could slowly bring everything back to normal through judicial reform, but he never thought that he would still have to face it after all!
But Sima Guang always adhered to his principles. Although he was anxious, he did not go to Zhang Fei for discussion.
In fact, you should not go to Zhang Fei, but to Zhao Pin, but no one went there because everyone knew that Zhao Pin was more selfless than Bao Zheng, and if you wanted to discuss with him, you were just looking for scolding.
Three days later, the imperial court convened to pronounce the verdict.
The VIP table was empty, with only a few people from Sima Guang sitting there to listen.
The verdict was almost as expected. Wu Tian and Liu Lian were convicted of rebellion, and thirty-three people including Luo Hai were found to have assisted in the rebellion.
Only five of them were not sentenced to death and were sentenced to two thousand miles of exile, while the rest were all sentenced to death.
Only a wailing sound was heard from the prisoner's box.
Except for Wu Tian and Liu Lian, everyone else was desperately crying out for injustice. They really didn't expect that the matter would reach this point.
They clearly underestimated the Tax Division.
This is not the first time that the Taxation Department has been underestimated, but everyone thinks that a strong dragon cannot overpower a local snake, and Zhang Fei always left room for them before and brought some fantasies to them. He always wanted to give it a try, but he died after trying it. .
But some people outside the courtyard who were watching the excitement cheered. Of course they were happy to see these powerful people punished.
Li Guozhong and Li Lei looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Li Lei whispered: "Father, should we go say hello to each other?"
Li Guozhong said: "Forget it this time."
Over there, Zhang Fei was humming a little tune and sorting out the copywriting. When he suddenly saw Wang Gong, Qi Ji felt worried and asked, "Why aren't you two happy after such a great victory?"
Qi Ji glanced at the empty VIP seats and couldn't help but said: "We have offended everyone this time."
Zhang Fei said with a smile: "If you don't offend me, you've already offended me. Why not accept it happily?"
Wang Gong chuckled and said, "We are not as open-minded as Prosecutor Zhang."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "This is not open-minded, but we have no choice. This is what the evidence shows. Are we supposed to bend the law for personal gain?"
Qi Ji said: "But it seems that no one can understand it, including Bachelor Sima and others."
As he spoke, his eyes glanced to the side.
Zhang Fei looked up and saw Sima Guang walking by. His resentful and confused eyes really looked like a resentful woman.
In response, Zhang Fei smiled and nodded.
This made Sima Guang even more confused.
Is this kid really floating?
If it’s so easy to get a trial, where will the public prosecutor’s turn come from?
Or does he have a plan to deal with it?
.....
Li's Bookstore.
"This is your reward. You have worked hard."
An imposing young man waved his hand with a very frustrated expression, and a servant behind him immediately brought a plate of silver to him.
Li Guozhong glanced at the silver and said, "The lawsuit has not yet ended, Mr. Xu, don't be busy paying."
Mr. Xu was stunned for a moment, "The lawsuit is over."
Li Guozhong said: "It will not be over until the imperial court's verdict is issued."
Mr. Xu frowned, "Is there still an opportunity?"
Li Guozhong said: "We will wait until the verdict is handed down."
.....
Imperial Court.
"President, there is something wrong with this judgment."
The disloyal officer Liu Hao came to Zhao Pin to report.
Zhao Pin was stunned for a moment, "Is there something wrong with the verdict?"
Liu Hao nodded and said: "According to the law, relatives of people such as Luo Hai and others must be sentenced, but the judgment of the chief judge is based on the prosecution's complaint. Can we include all their relatives?"
Zhao Pin blinked, his mind a little confused, and suddenly asked: "How were rebellion cases done in the past?"
Liu Hao said: "In the past, the main culprit was also convicted, but the government agencies below will arrest all the people related to it according to the law, and then punish them according to the law.
But there was no prosecution or defense before, so I don’t know if I can do this.”
"Yes!" Zhao Pin frowned and said, "If the imperial court can add prisoners at will, what does the procuratorate have to do and why should they try?"
Liu Hao said: "In my opinion, we can only ask the procuratorate to add another indictment, because this is the law."
Zhao Pin nodded slightly, "Go and invite Prosecutor Zhang here."
"yes."
An hour later, Zhang Fei came to the imperial court.
"The lower official has met the Chief Justice."
"Prosecutor Zhang is free of charge."
Zhao Ping raised his hand and asked Zhang Fei to sit down again, and then said: "I asked Prosecutor Zhang to come over today. I have urgent matters to discuss with Prosecutor Zhang."
Zhang Fei asked curiously: "I wonder what it is?"
Zhao Pindao: "According to the treason regulations, the principal offender and the family members of the accomplices must be punished in accordance with the law. However, these people are not involved in your indictment, which makes it difficult for our imperial court to issue a verdict. Do you think it will be better? Add an indictment to include their relatives."
"ah?"
Zhang Fei looked shocked and said: "This... I'm afraid this won't work. Our procuratorate prosecutes based on specific evidence, and we don't have any evidence of the crimes of those people. This... this should be the responsibility of the imperial court."
Zhao Pin immediately said: "But if the imperial court can add prisoners to the verdict at will, wouldn't it be chaos?"
Zhang Fei said: "If our procuratorate can prosecute at will, it will be chaos!"
Zhao Pincuo said in astonishment: "Then what should we do now?"
Zhang Fei asked: "I wonder how it was done before."
Zhao Pindao: "In the past, for cases like this, no one was arrested. If they were arrested, the whole family would probably be arrested together. Then the main culprit would be tried. If found guilty, everyone could be sentenced according to the law, and even Depending on the size of the case, we may arrest more people, but according to the system of public prosecutions and law, it seems inappropriate to do so."
The imperial court did not control the judicial power. There was also the procuratorate and the police station below. Luo Hai's wife and children were not arrested, but were confined at home and their property was temporarily sealed.
Zhang Fei said sarcastically: "President, searching for legal provisions and making judgments in accordance with the law are all the functions of the imperial court. Our procuratorate is really beyond our capabilities!"
Zhao Pindao: "But the evidence that the imperial court has obtained so far all comes from your procuratorate. The imperial court doesn't know yet how many sons, daughters and concubines Na Luo Hai has. At present, the imperial court does not know. Without the ability to investigate, how do I know who to include and who not to include? Shouldn't this be investigated by your procuratorate?"
Zhang Fei said: "Our procuratorate can investigate, but the question is, will the imperial court recognize what we find?"
Zhao Pindao: "Why doesn't the imperial court recognize it?"
Zhang Fei immediately said: "But our procuratorate does not have any evidence. It only determines their relationship with Luo Hai. However, according to relevant laws, wives, concubines, children, brothers, sisters, servants, and neighbors can all be counted."
Zhao Pin stroked his beard and said, "This is inappropriate! Isn't it all your procuratorate's final decision?"
The imperial court also has to look at the evidence.
But for this kind of thing, evidence is often not needed, only the relationship needs to be ascertained.
Zhang Fei said: "Maybe the police station has the final say, because it is most likely the police station to investigate this matter."
This kind of thing is too easy to go wrong. If someone catches you, the prosecutor's office will not do such a stupid thing.
"no!"
Zhao Pin waved his hand and said: "You must not do this. If you do this, the case will not need to be tried at all. The reason why the public prosecutor's law is fair and impartial is that it emphasizes evidence and can avoid most unjust cases. Doing so will definitely undermine the public prosecutor's law." system."
After a pause, he added: "You go back and think about it carefully first, I will also think about it carefully."
"yes."
...
After the imperial court's verdict, everyone was already preparing for the second step. This was a done deal and there was no way back.
However, the verdict has not yet been issued, which makes everyone very curious. Is Zhao Pin planning to ask the emperor for instructions?
This inquiry was made without asking the emperor for instructions.
Gradually, the news began to spread.
It turned out that the imperial court did not know how to write this judgment.
This is so funny!
The dignitaries in the court were all confused. What was going on? When they inquired carefully, they suddenly became hopeful again. It turned out that they had tied themselves up!
There is also such a good thing.
Let Li Guozhong and others prepare quickly. As long as the judgment does not comply with the system of the Public Security Bureau, the Public Security Bureau, we will prosecute, because the Public Security Bureau and the Law emphasize the trial system.
...
Political Hall.
"I see."
Wen Yanbo chuckled and said, "I was wondering why Zhang San went out of his way and wanted to kill everyone. It turns out he had a hidden agenda here."
Lu Gongzhu asked: "Does Duke Wen think this is a flaw intentionally left by Zhang San?"
Wen Yanbo nodded: "It must be so."
Fu Bi shook his head and said, "It can't be said to be a flaw. There is indeed a big conflict between the public security system, the prosecutor's office, and the law."
Sima Guang asked: "In this case, how to reconcile the conflict between the two?"
Fu Bi shook his head and said, "I don't have a clue either."
.....
Prince's Mansion.
“I didn’t expect that the final step... had already been passed and problems could still arise.”
Lu Huiqing found it funny, "This is really incredible."
Wang Anshi said thoughtfully: "Maybe this was planned by someone."
Lu Huiqing was startled, "Zhang San?"
Wang Anshi nodded.
Lu Huiqing nodded and said: "This is really like Zhang San's style. He always handles things from beginning to end and will not let the situation get out of control."
"Not only that."
Wang Anshi said: "He may also want to use this case to re-use the Public Security Bureau Law to define the continuous sitting system. In this way, more ministers will support the Public Security Bureau Law."