Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 183: The officialdom is like a play, all depends on acting skills

As far as the feudal dynasty is concerned, the Song Dynasty can be said to be the most important and professional in judicature.

There is a big background for this, which is the previous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

The judicial chaos at that time was really dark.

After the old Zhao family took over, they knew very well that if the judiciary was not improved, it would be difficult to stabilize the country.

For example, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there was a characteristic, that is, "soldiers run prisons", which directly led to the abuse of punishment and intensified many social conflicts.

Therefore, the old Zhao family stipulated that the judicial officials must be literati, and through the reform of the judicial system, a relatively fair and clean judicial system was created, the core of which was the division system.

The so-called "Branch Division" is to separate trial and trial.

This system is adopted from the Dali Temple to the local prefectures and counties.

Tiansi, responsible for hearing, interrogating, and verifying.

According to the relevant legal provisions retrieved from the criminal facts that have been determined, the procuratorate judges whether the case is applicable.

The judgment must refer to the legal provisions. You can't think of a crime, and you can't just use the legal provisions to make it far-fetched. This department and the audit department of the third division are the two most professional departments in Song Dynasty.

One is money and the other is law.

Of course, in many county towns, there are still county magistrates, chief registrars and judges, and county lieutenants to investigate and pursue.

However, Kaifeng County, as the largest county in the country, is already equivalent to the state capital level. Chixian County is a very powerful existence. If you can serve as the county magistrate in Kaifeng County, you will have a bright future. for this kind of position.

There are state-level judicial institutions such as the Sili Yuan in Kaifeng County.

The Kaifeng Mansion is naturally a higher level. Below it are the left and right halls, the left and right inspection courts, the left and right Xianggong, etc., and many judicial institutions.

Kaifeng County, Si Liyuan.

In the office full of official documents, several pushers and recording officials sat in it, bent over to work.

This department is the hardest.

This Kaifeng County is too big, with a large and mixed population, and there are new cases every day. It can be said that they have endless work!

"Big eucalyptus, big eucalyptus!"

A clerk walked into the room quickly and said excitedly.

The people in the room raised their heads immediately.

"What big eucalyptus?"

"Just then a Taoist priest named Geng Ming sued Luomapo Wei Yushan for colluding with officials, engaging in malpractice for personal gain, extortion, and extortion, resulting in the ruin of his family and the separation of his wife and children."

This is really a big eucalyptus!

The officials immediately gathered around.

"Geng Ming? I seem to have heard of this name before." An old clerk thought thoughtfully.

"Really?"

"Oh, oh, I remembered, there is such a thing, this Geng Ming used to be the Li Zheng in the village, responsible for urging taxes, but for some reason, he suddenly ran to Wei's house to urge taxes, there was no After a while, Geng Ming sold his land, his wife and children left him, and later... Later, it seems that he became a monk and became a Taoist priest.”

Lizheng was the most difficult Yaqian service in the Song Dynasty. According to the law, first-class households must serve as the servants in rotation. They are often responsible for financial matters, collecting taxes, depositing goods, and so on.

Of course, everything has two sides, and there are some ruthless people among them, who transfer the suffering of their pre-Yamen to the villagers, but the result will not change much. They are leeks after all, even with means, If you fatten yourself up, you will inevitably be slaughtered.

"I've heard it too. It seems that there is such a thing. It is said that he did not receive the land tax from the Wei family, and the county government forced them to pay it."

"This Wei family really has hands and eyes!"

"What can I do then?"

While discussing, I saw an official in his early thirties entering the house.

The name of this person is Chen Chong.

It was Si Li who joined the army.

Although his official position is only eighth rank, he is also a Jinshi. In the Song Dynasty, there was a clear regulation that judicial officers and managers must be of Jinshi origin when they joined the army. Many prime ministers held this position when they were young.

Even if Zu Yin becomes an official, he must pass the judicial examination.

It can be seen how much the Song Dynasty attached importance to justice.

"What are you discussing?" Chen Chong couldn't help asking when he saw everyone gathered together.

"Manager Chen, someone came to sue just now."

These officials told Chen Chong the reason in a hurry.

Chen Chong couldn't help frowning when he heard this, but he hadn't been in office for a long time and lacked experience, so he organized a meeting to discuss this matter.

"Geng Ming has the proof of tax bills. Only one year later, he paid three times more tax money. There is obviously something tricky in it. Not only that, but he also kept some proofs of his pursuit of the Wei family's taxes back then, and Evidence of the Wei family's tax evasion in recent years."

"Actually, with these evidences, it is enough to convict, but these evidences are also known to everyone."

"Yes! Ever since Wei Yushan's daughter married King Chang as a concubine, no one dared to go to his house to collect taxes."

"This kind of lawsuit seems to have ironclad evidence, but it can't be judged at all."

"This Geng Ming is really stubborn. If he could sue him, he wouldn't have suffered so much. Could it be that he is terminally ill and wants to fight to the death?"

......

Listening to their discussion for a long time, Chen Chong couldn't make up his mind for a while, after all, there was King Chang behind Wei Yushan, and asked, "What should we do?"

A group of civil servants looked at each other in blank dismay.

"Manager Chen, there is no need to accept such a case. It must be futile and offend many people." The elder secretary shook his head and sighed.

Almost everyone in the room nodded.

Only a young county governor named Bi Ye said: "You have to see clearly that this is not just tax evasion, it also includes crimes of favoritism, self-stealing, defrauding officials, etc. , if we don’t accept it, if it is exposed, we will also be implicated.”

"If it could be exposed, it would have been exposed three years ago, so he would not be able to sue him."

"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just in case!" Bi Ye said.

Chen Chong thinks about it, and it's really not peaceful recently. He glanced at the young official and asked, "Bi Tuisi, what do you think we should do?"

Bi Ye said: "Manager Chen, we are just trying the trial. Whether the sentence is judged or not is a matter for the judiciary and the county magistrate. Let's pretend that we don't know and report it to it. Whether it is judged or not is up to us." Nothing to do."

When he said this, everyone nodded.

I think this is more secure.

The system of mutual checks and balances in the Song Dynasty actually has another disadvantage, that is, everyone can shirk each other.

Chen Chong nodded and said, "Just do as you say."

To be on the safe side, Chen Chong also personally interrogated Geng Ming, and then packed up the confession and evidence and threw them to the judiciary to join the army.

Judicial joining the army is actually part of the Supervisory Council, which is divided into left and right houses, but sometimes, judicial joining the army is directly in charge of the manager.

.....

"You have done a good job. After this case is over, I will recommend you to the top."

After Lu Jiawen got the manager's confession, he happily praised Bi Ye.

"Thank you Judiciary Lu."

Bi Ye couldn't help being overjoyed, and quickly cupped his hands to express his thanks.

He is so young, according to the rules of the Song Dynasty, seniority is required for official promotion, which is what he lacks the most, unless someone from above recommends him.

The next day, Lu Jiawen sent the written judgment to the county government.

After all, the county magistrate is the highest judge in a county.

Judicial joining the army and magistrates are not mutual checks and balances, but purely superior-subordinate relations.

But generally speaking, many civil lawsuits with a punishment of less than 30 rods are directly judged by the judiciary joining the army, and the county government just goes through a process. County chief executive.

But this case is a major criminal case and must be judged by the county magistrate himself.

When Wang Hong saw this, he immediately sent someone to notify Wei Yushan.

.....

The head of the Wei family, Wei Yushan, is not yet forty years old this year, but he really became famous at a young age, and his methods are vicious, everyone knows and fears.

Besides, he is a martial artist, when the people from the county government came to his house, he was holding a stone pier in the courtyard with his shirtless arms, and two or three concubines were standing by to cheer him on.

"Geng Ming?"

Wei Yushan was still in a daze, as if he had never heard of this name.

It was the elder at the side who reminded him.

"It's that stinky Lizheng who doesn't know how to live or die again."

Wei Yushan just remembered, but he didn't panic at all, and immediately ordered someone to write a pleading paper, suing Geng Ming for extortion, embezzlement and bribery.

It turned out that at that time, Wei Yushan insisted that he had given the tax money to Geng Ming. To bear it.

Geng Ming was worried about the lawsuit, so he could only afford it. Later, he really couldn't afford it. The land property was confiscated by the government to pay off the debt. In the end, the land fell into Wei Yushan's hands.

When Chen Chong saw Wei Yushan's pleadings, he couldn't stand it. You don't take us too seriously. You should provide evidence anyway. Just a piece of pleading. Is this county government run by your family?

Therefore, he took the initiative to ask Lu Jia to discuss it.

Lv Jiawen took the pleading paper and went to discuss with Wang Hong.

"The tax notes provided by Geng Ming can't explain anything at all."

Wang Hong waved his hands.

Lu Jia asked wondering: "If Geng Ming's tax bills can't be used as evidence, then Wei Yushan's pleadings are just a piece of waste paper."

Wang Hong sighed: "I didn't say that Wei Yushan would win, but... well, Lu Jufa, you should also know that it was already three years ago that Lizheng often extorted people. Knowing the situation at the time, the official suggested to persuade them to reconcile."

When this happened, he had not taken office in Kaifeng County. He knew what was going on in his heart. Although he would not convict Wei Yushan, he was not willing to wipe his ass.

As for the personal grievances between Wei Yushan and Geng Ming, you can resolve them yourself.

Lu Jiawen nodded and said: "Yes, there are many black sheep in the middle, but whoever says that Geng Ming is going to blackmail Wei Yushan, I will never believe it."

Wang Hong frowned and asked, "That's how you judged to join the army? What evidence do you have to prove that Geng Ming can't blackmail Wei Yushan?"

Lu Jia asked: "Even so, Geng Ming should go to jail instead of paying several times the tax to the government."

Wang Hongdao: "This is also a common thing. The dereliction of duty in the Yaqian may not necessarily be punished, but compensation to the government. This is also a way of compensation. It is not the first day you have been an official. Do you even Don’t you know all of this?”

Lu Jia asked: "Does Wangzhi County have evidence to prove this?"

Wang Hong lowered his eyebrows and said, "Are you the county magistrate, or am I the county magistrate?"

Lu Jia asked: "Can the magistrate not respect the law?"

"Bastard!"

Wang Hong was furious, and pointed at Lu Jia and asked, "You, Lu Jia, may not even be able to be a subordinate official if you don't rely on your family background. Why are you preaching to the magistrate here? From today on, you don't have to worry about this matter." .”

Lv Jiawen stood up, snorted angrily, and walked away.

Wang Hong didn't pay any attention to the official's son, and directly dismissed the lawsuits of both parties because of insufficient evidence.

......

The Zhang family.

"Alas...!"

Xu Zhiqian rested her chin on one hand, looked at the door, she really wanted to see through it, and sighed, "Why don't you come!"

Zhang Fei said in a bad mood: "I told you long ago that in terms of the efficiency of the court, it will take at least ten days and a half months. We have a lot of time. After work, we still have time to chat. You I wanted to rush, but now I can only wait stupidly."

Geng Ming went to file a complaint before the preparations were completed, but the documents were all ready. After waiting for three or four days, Xu Zhiqian's excitement was almost over.

Xu Zhiqian rolled Zhang Fei's eyes, and when he was about to speak, there was a knock on the door.

"Here we come!"

Xu Zhiqian immediately lifted her spirits.

After a while, Li Si entered the hall and said, "Third Brother, there is a man outside who claims to be a member of the Kaifeng County Judiciary and wants to see you."