Chapter 806: There is no greater sorrow than death.
The incident was a spike in blood pressure.
It sounds really cowardly. You gentlemen are really too weak. Even if you use 1% of the domineering power you usually use to deal with us, the Liao people will be crippled even if they don't die!
He really strikes hard at home and is submissive to others.
But the people inside the venue were also extremely aggrieved.
What do you know? What we do is called enduring humiliation and bearing the burden. If we really fight, you will have to scream in agony.
It's purely for your sake, but you still scold us?
Talk about conscience or not.
There are two mentalities inside and outside the game.
But if we really talk about this kind of thing, it is really consequentialism.
Winning or losing is the key.
Although this is what Zhang Fei is looking forward to seeing, it is not what this trial is about. In the final analysis, this is just a civil lawsuit.
Zhang Fei banged the gavel three times in a row and continued to ask: "You just mentioned one point, that the Khitan people committed murder because of the fields?"
"Yes."
"Then after they committed the crime, did they stay there to cultivate the fields?"
"Yes! Yes! The local Khitans keep encroaching on our fields. Now there are much more Khitans there than we Han people."
"Does the local government take any measures against this?"
"I told the chief judge, sometimes they go too far, and the government will send people to dig some trenches to prevent them from committing crimes."
An older middle-aged man said.
But Chen Xu said: "But when we dig trenches, we always dig them after they plow the land. After the trench is dug, we don't dare to cross it, and the trench becomes the boundary between the two sides.
But later on, if more people come from the other side, they will sneak through the trenches to reclaim new land, and the government will dig trenches again. By repeating this process, they have occupied a lot of our land."
The other four people also nodded.
Exploded!
Exploded!
The people outside the venue were so overwhelmed that they almost went crazy. This was so cowardly.
You might as well not build this trench.
Is this trench a defense against the Liao Dynasty or against ourselves?
Zhang Fei nodded and asked: "Then do you know where the real boundary between our dynasty and the northern dynasty should be on the border of Hedong?"
As soon as these words came out, the five people looked at each other, and then shook their heads at the same time.
Zhang Fei asked again: "Has anyone produced a certificate to prove to you that those lands belong to our Song Dynasty?"
Chen Xu was surprised and said: "It was the government that asked us to farm the land here. How could it be fake?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I know it was the government that asked you to farm. I just want to ask if the government has shown you the credentials."
Wang Hui suddenly stood up and said: "President, no matter where the government organizes people to open up wasteland, they will never show the people evidence in this regard."
Zhang Fei asked: "Has your Legal Aid Agency found any relevant evidence?"
Wang Hui was stunned for a moment and said: "That is our country's territory, why should we investigate it?"
Zhang Fei said: "Because the Public Security Bureau puts more emphasis on evidence than what you think."
Wang Hui blinked and was speechless in embarrassment.
The people outside the venue were also confused. Is there any mystery behind this?
It shouldn’t be!
Zhang Fei did not embarrass Wang Hui, "You guys go down and have a rest first."
"yes."
Chen Xu and the others nodded politely, but the last two questions from the Chief Justice made them a little worried.
Zhang Fei then summoned other plaintiffs.
Although not all of the other plaintiffs were from Tianchi, the situation they described was similar to that of Chen Xu and others, but some of them were robbed by the Khitans.
The people outside the stadium were almost desperate when they heard this.
The government's weakness and incompetence in the local area makes it almost impossible to see any hope.
However, no one can tell where the boundary should be in that area. How can they know such a thing.
After the last group of plaintiffs appeared in court, Zhang Fei suddenly banged his gavel and said loudly: "Although the land deeds provided by the plaintiffs were indeed given by the government, the evidence provided by the plaintiffs is not complete and needs to be
We will continue to investigate, so we will stop here for today and wait for new evidence to be found before we proceed with the trial."
"???"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was stunned.
What?
Is this the end?
Are you kidding us?
It's a pity that their chief judge completely ignored their feelings, stood up, shook his head arrogantly, and then left directly, leaving them to doubt their lives under the sun.
This is like the poster advertising a 3D blockbuster, but when you walk in, you see it's Peppa Pig.
This is simply a naked fraud!
After Zhang Fei left, the ministers immediately surrounded Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo.
"Rich Gong, Wen Gong, that little...the Chief Justice is just trying to please others. When he was still Erbi, he liked to dress in a coquettish and eye-catching way. Now he is getting even worse."
"That's right. If he just wants to seek justice for these people, then the court can also discuss with them and compensate them for some land. Is it worth setting up such a big battle?"
"Yes, yes, in previous civil lawsuits, didn't the Imperial Court often recommend reconciliation between the two parties? Why did the Imperial Court not mention reconciliation this time?"
"The only result of this is to arouse public anger, arouse people's hatred for the Northern Dynasty, and destroy the harmony between the people of the two countries. The key is that this will make it difficult for the court to stop. If this diplomatic matter is swayed by public resentment, it will be a big deal.
."
"Does this count as using the people to interfere in the administration?"
...
Everyone said something to you and me in a very anxious tone.
If this trial continues, no one will dare to compromise with the Liao Kingdom, which will also make it difficult for the Song Dynasty's diplomacy to turn around.
Fu Bi saw Wen Yanbo put his hands into his sleeves and remained silent. He could only nod helplessly and said: "I understand everyone's concerns, but he is the president of the court. When there is sufficient evidence, only officials can stop him from hearing the case. I
There is nothing you can do about it.
As for reconciliation, according to the rules, the government can also take the initiative to reconcile with those Baixin, and the imperial court cannot interfere in this."
When everyone heard this, they couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh!
They wanted to talk to the emperor, but the problem was that the Liao Kingdom over there was aggressive. They were embarrassed to go and tell the emperor at this time!
As for taking the initiative to reconcile, isn't that just asking for trouble?
Nowadays, if everyone is so arrogant, they will be scolded to death.
They can only cooperate with the Imperial Court if they suggest reconciliation.
...
Xue Xiang, who was opposite Wang Anshi, just glanced here and left silently.
"Ms. Wang, what is the intention of the President of the Court to hear this case?" Xue Xiang asked curiously.
Wang Anshi just responded calmly: "Be ready for war with Liao."
.....
Back hall.
"That sounds really cowardly."
Zhao Xu punched the table hard.
Zhang Fei on the side said: "Your Majesty, Qi Gui Qi, you can't be too high-spirited."
After hearing this, Zhao Xu became even more excited and said, "You provoked my anger, but now you say this, what do you want?"
Zhang Fei said: "I just hope that Your Majesty can know and remember this humiliation, but Your Majesty is the king of a country, and you still need to be strategically determined."
Zhao Xu said: "Don't you think this is very contradictory?"
"This is not a contradiction."
Zhang Fei said: "Actually, the real harm caused by the Chanyuan Alliance to our dynasty is not the loss of a little money or a little territory. Both money and territory can be recovered. For example, the Han and Tang Dynasties also lost territory and territory.
Money, these are all insignificant, but the real fatal thing is numbness. Although the world is safe, if you forget to fight, you will be in danger.
Now we, the Song Dynasty, no longer have the courage to fight against the Liao Kingdom, and this is the most fatal thing."
Zhao Xu nodded and said: "Yes! Since the Chanyuan Alliance, our country has almost lost the courage to fight against the Liao Kingdom. As long as I am sensible, I have never heard any suggestions in this regard."
He felt deeply about this, because he himself felt the same, and this was indeed the problem. He asked Zhang Fei again: "What should we do about this?"
Zhang Fei said: "To untie the bell, one must tie it. Only a victory can eliminate everyone's inner fear. Perhaps strategically, we do have many choices. Those ministers in the DPRK and China think that we should compromise and avoid fighting on two fronts. This
It's not unreasonable, and I can think of ten thousand reasons for the same.
But from our hearts, we are actually fighting a last-ditch battle. If we don’t advance, we will perish. If we choose to compromise this time, we can only continue to compromise in the future. We will not win the war against Xixia, because the Liao Kingdom will never win.
If you will allow it, you will still be the same as before, losing your wife and losing your troops.
This is also one of the purposes of this trial, which is to arouse everyone’s fighting spirit.”
Zhao Xu pondered for a long time, "You are right. It seems that we can take it easy, but in fact there is no way out."
...
A court trial that ended in an anticlimactic manner made everyone disappointed. The overbearing president they expected did not appear, but public opinion continued to ferment among the people.
More and more people are very dissatisfied with the weakness of the imperial court.
Scholars, in particular, published articles criticizing officials in border states.
Due to the appearance of newspapers and periodicals, the news quickly spread throughout Hebei, Jingdong East Road, Northwest and other places, and people's dissatisfaction with Liao became increasingly high.
The ministers who advocated compromise did not dare to say anything.
This is actually related to the reform. Due to the success of the internal affairs reform, the whole society has taken on a completely new look. Especially the concept of the rule of law is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. People think that our rights and interests should be defended. I don’t care if they are Khitans. People, or party members, just can’t do this!
At the same time, another great victory suddenly came from the northwest.
Ganzhou was captured by the combined forces of Song and Tibet.
Not to mention the common people, even Zhao Xu was confused.
Isn’t our front line in Lanzhou and Yanzhou? Aren’t we on defense?
How did you capture Ganzhou?
What exactly is going on.
It turns out that since Ganzhou and Suzhou sent troops to harass the Hehuang Passage, Wang Shao reached an agreement with the Tubo tribes to protect the trade routes and began to fight against the Xixia army in Ganzhou, Suzhou and other places.
Originally it was just harassment and counter-harassment, because many Tubo tribes did not want to invade the Xixia territory, but the problem was that this game was given the attributes of merchants.
Ganzhou is also a big trading state, and there are many merchants in it. These merchants are very dissatisfied with the decrees of Empress Dowager Liang. Now, in order to counterattack on the front line, Empress Dowager Liang has harvested a lot of grain and grass from Ganzhou and Suzhou in the rear. , war horses, and dispatched many elites to the northern front.
This makes the local businessmen and big landowners feel even more dissatisfied. In comparison, the landowners in Xihe area don't even have to pay taxes, and food is even more expensive. This is really infuriating!
Coupled with the infiltration of Ma Tianhao and others, the two parties secretly reached an agreement to ensure that they would surrender to the Song Dynasty, their interests would be protected, and their land deeds would still be valid.
Therefore, the reason why Ganzhou was suddenly captured was because they directly rebelled internally. The two sides cooperated internally and externally to capture Ganzhou in one fell swoop.
Suzhou on the border has also become in danger.
This gave Empress Dowager Liang a great headache. She had no choice but to send troops to put down the rebellion.
However, this kind of situation keeps happening on the border, especially in the south, that is, the area near the Xihe area. Because the Empress Dowager Liang mobilized an army of 400,000 to 500,000 people, where did the food and grass come from? It is impossible for the Liao Kingdom to support such If there are too many, they can only impose taxes. The more the court imposes, the more people will run to Xihe, and the more businessmen will return to Xihe with their property.
This creates a vicious cycle.
Because Xihe is originally a mixed area, and Han people do not make up the majority. There are Tubo people and Dangxiang people in it, so they join Xihe without any psychological burden and can just get rich.
...
The good news in the northwest made the people of the Central Plains more confident, and more and more people asked the court to be tougher on the Liao Kingdom.
This sentiment made many businessmen feel uneasy. After all, the Liao Kingdom was the first trading country in the Song Dynasty, and they all had to do business!
Alum Tower.
"Sanlang, we have a lot of trade relations with the Liao Kingdom. Can we still do this business?"
Fan Yong asked Zhang Fei with deep concern.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Of course the business will continue as usual. This is our advantage, how can we give up."
Chen Maoqian said: "But in the current situation, who dares to do this business? If there is a fight, the losses will be heavy."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Didn't I leave a way out for you?"
Fan Yong said: "Sea transportation?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Do you still need to be afraid of the Liao Kingdom when you are at sea? Moreover, when you go to sea to trade, you don't have to look at the faces of border officials, which is more convenient for trade."
Chen Maoqian nodded and said: "If this can be done, of course it would be best. Most of the interests of the port belong to our charity foundation. I am afraid that the court will not allow it. If we do this, we will rob the border market of trade."
."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "You are just worried. Are the officials afraid that their port taxes will increase?"
Chen Maoqian's eyes lit up, "That's true. Now all port taxes belong to the government."
As he spoke, he became even more interested, "Sanlang, I recently wrote to you, saying that there is a place called Peach Blossom Island on the coast of the Liao Kingdom. The location of the island is very good. Not only can it be built as a warehouse, it is also convenient for people with
Liao Kingdom and Goryeo's maritime trade, and once we control this island, we can completely contain the Liao Kingdom's ports. With our strength at sea, it will not be difficult to capture this island."
We have no horses, but we have ships, so we are not afraid of the Liao people in naval battles.
Zhang Fei frowned slightly and said, "Ask Erlang to send you detailed information about this island."
Chen Maoqian nodded.
Fan Yong said: "By the way, Sanlang, do you still want to fight the lawsuit?"
Zhang Fei said: "Let's fight! It's just that the land involved in this lawsuit is more complicated, but the court should be held soon."
...
That lawsuit just got started, and then it went to hell. In the blink of an eye, a month has passed.
Just when everyone had almost forgotten about the lawsuit and the public opinion was gradually calming down, the Supreme Court suddenly announced that the court would continue hearing the case on the next rest day.
drunk!
Are you done with it? Can't you finish it all at once?
But many ministers also saw Zhang Fei's intention. The public opinion has just subsided a little, and you are here again just to keep the heat up.
When the court opened, more people came than on the first day. After all, public opinion had been fermenting for many days and everyone knew about the case.
When the court opened this time, Zhang Fei summoned a very important person.
That is Han Qi and Mr. Han.
Regarding the issue of the Hedong boundary, Han Qi was the first prime minister to deal with it. He was a very key witness. However, Zhang Fei also heard that Han Qi was not in good health, so he allowed the adjutant beside him to come and stand in for him.
to testify, but Han Qi still agreed to testify himself.
Can this kind of thing be replaced?
If you don't do it right, you will become a sinner through the ages.
Han Qi was seen walking slowly to the court with the support of Han Zhongyan and the old servant, and sat on a wicker chair specially prepared for him so that he could lean on it.
Zhang Fei asked with great concern: "Mr. Han, if you feel unwell in any way, you can tell us directly. This lawsuit cannot be completed in a day or two."
Anyway, I've already delayed it for a month, and I still don't care how many more days I have to wait.
Han Qi nodded.
Zhang Fei said: "After the last court hearing, our imperial court went to check and found that there was nothing wrong with the people's land deeds. They were indeed issued by the government, and there were official documents from the court to prove it.
However, they did not provide a complete piece of evidence to prove whether those lands belong to our Song Dynasty. This is also the key point of the current case. If those areas do not belong to our Song Dynasty, their land deeds will naturally not be legal.
Effectiveness, and as far as I know, it was Xianggong Han who advocated migrating people into that area to farm."
Han Qi immediately said: "Of course the territory east of Hedong belongs to our territory of the Song Dynasty. There is no doubt about this."
The tone was very firm.
Although he has always advocated maintaining relations with the Liao Kingdom, Zhang Fei asked, he must be firm on this point. If he is not firm on this point, then he will be a sinner. If you give the territory of the Liao Kingdom to us Song people, what do you want to do?
?
Zhang Fei said: "Does Mr. Han have any evidence?"
Han Qi nodded and said: "When I visited Hedong, I checked the relevant evidence and learned that the imperial court wanted to summon me to testify. I also specially applied to the officials to borrow some evidence from the court. There was one piece of evidence.
, in the fifth year of Taiping and Xingguo, in a memorial written by Zhang Qixian, the embassy of Zuo Shiyi, to Emperor Taizong, it was clearly mentioned that during the early period of peace in Hedong, no military strongholds were established in Lan, Xin, Xian, Dai and other places, so that
Enemy invaders often harassed us, and this article also specifically mentioned Yanmen and Yangwu Villages.
After that, our court also established some military strongholds in the local area to defend against the Khitan invasion from the south. I also borrowed from the court records of the defense deployment in the Hedong area at that time."
After that, Han Zhongyan presented all the relevant evidence.
After Zhang Fei looked at them one by one, he asked: "Since this belongs to our territory of the Song Dynasty, why is there a dispute? There are more local Liao people than us Song people?"
Han Qi was a little dazed as he recalled the past.
Zhang Fei said: "Mr. Han?"
Han Qi was startled, then slowly said: "After Emperor Taizong destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, he ordered the people to migrate to Hedong. However, not long after, Yongxi's Northern Expedition ended in failure, and our strategy was forced to shift from offensive to defensive. At that time
The Liao people often went south to plunder, causing the plan to move to Hedong to be temporarily shelved.
Later, in order to prevent the Liao people from marching south to invade, General Pan Mei at that time adopted the strategy of clearing the country, issued a ban, prohibited people from farming in the area, and built forts in the area in order to control the north-south transportation hub, and the Liao Kingdom also saw through it.
Our intention is to build a fortress in the dangerous position of Beishan to confront our army.
During this period, the boundaries between the two sides were actually determined.
The problem came after the Chanyuan Alliance, because according to the Chanyuan Alliance, the two sides stopped fighting and stopped fighting each other. In the next twenty or thirty years, the military equipment in Hedong was depleted, and the number of soldiers stationed there was decreasing day by day.
, the forts built at that time were gradually abandoned, but the migration ban was not lifted, and this paved the way for future disasters."
Zhang Fei asked: "How do you say this?"
Han Qi explained: "It was the reduction of the local garrison and the disappearance of the forts that led to our country's neglect of management of that area. As a result, many Liao people crossed the Beishan Mountains and entered our territory to farm, but our people were not allowed to enter due to the ban.
During this period, there were about thirty years, almost a generation had changed, which led the local Liao people to believe that those lands should belong to their Liao Kingdom.
It was not until the first year of Qingli that Bianzhou came to appeal to the imperial court, and the northern people Su Zhi and Nie Zaiyou invaded Gengyang Wuzhai land, which attracted the imperial court's attention."
Zhang Fei asked: "How did the court respond at that time?"
Han Qi sighed: "At that time, the officials of Yangwuzhai and the envoys of the Liao State discussed the boundaries of Yangwuzhai in the northwest of Chun County."
Zhang Fei asked: "How are they divided?"
Han Qi said: "It reaches Maima City in the east, the foot of Huangwei Mountain in the south, Jiaojiazhai in the west, and Zhangjiazhuang in the north."
Zhang Fei asked: "Is this the initial limit?"
Han Qi said: "In fact, the boundary has moved more than twenty miles south."
Zhang Fei said: "In other words, after this negotiation, the Liao Kingdom pushed their border line east of Hedong more than twenty miles south."
Han Qi nodded.
Zhang Fei lowered his head and looked at the copy and said, "But even according to this limit, Tianchi and other places are not included."
Han Qi added: "In the third year of Qingli, controversy arose again because a northerner named Shi Ting once again crossed the border and invaded our territory."
Zhang Fei said: "What's the result?"
Han Qi said: "The two sides have once again adjusted the boundaries north of Chun County, but the boundary adjustment is not much different from what was previously demarcated.
Later, Emperor Renzong decided to dig trenches at the border and use this as the boundary. However, in the fifth year of Qingli, Du Sirong, a northerner, crossed the trenches and invaded the land north of Tianchi, but he did not enter the scope of Tianchi at that time."
Zhang Fei asked: "What was the court's response at that time?"
Han Qi remained silent.
Zhang Fei waited for a while, then looked down at the copy and said: "According to what the plaintiff said before, the imperial court can only dig more trenches. If the other party invades again, the imperial court will dig further. Is this true?"
Han Qi nodded.
Zhang Fei said: "However, I am a little confused by what Mr. Han said. The invasion of farming by a northerner can force our country to move the entire border line south?"
Han Qi remained silent.
It was also dead silent outside.
As the saying goes, there is nothing greater to mourn than to die.